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The McKinney Fire Underlines the Ways California Wildfires Are Worsening
By Martha C. White MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
As it blazes into its second week, the McKinney Fire isn’t just California’s biggest wildfire of 2022. It’s also an example of how forest conflagrations are evolving. Unsurprisingly, experts hold climate change partly to blame.
The McKinney blaze — which just started on July 29 — spans more than 60,000 acres and is 75% contained as of Aug. 11, according to InciWeb, the clearinghouse for wildfire data. At its peak periods to date, McKinney has moved fast — reportedly tens of thousands of acres in its first active night.
Wildfires are generally burning far more acres in California than the historic norm, with an extraordinary spike in the past few years. California’s seven largest fires have all occurred since 2018, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). The worst year on record for fires in the state was 2020 with more than 4.3 million acres burned. That compares with nearly 1.6 million acres burned in 2017, and about 601,000 acres burned in 2013.
“We’re getting a lot more bigger fires all the time, more than we normally would,” says Craig Clements, professor of meteorology and climate science and director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center at San Jose State University.
In addition to larger fires, experts say the California wildfire season is getting longer and more areas have a high fire risk than ever before. Why is this happening? Experts say the evolution is due to an unfortunate combination of prolonged drought, hot temperatures, extreme weather and human activity.
A changing climate adds to wildfire risk
Although fires are not caused directly by climate change (malfunctioning utility equipment and other human activity are often the catalysts), a hotter and drier climate punctuated by torrential rain and snow falls sets the stage.
A warming planet also means more extreme weather events like more intense thunderstorms, which can start fires if a lightning strike ignites dry vegetation. Dubbed “precipitation whiplash” by weather watchers, this phenomenon is one of the most visible symptoms of climate change and a contributor to heightened wildfire risk.
In such conditions, thunderstorms can both start and intensify blazes. With the McKinney Fire, high winds and thunderstorms supercharged the flames and caused the fire to grow rapidly.
While weather swings — even dramatic ones like the state has experienced in recent years — don’t have a material impact on trees and shrubs in the short term, California’s expansive grasslands are another story: Heavy rains trigger bursts of growth, and when those events are followed by drought conditions, that dried vegetation contributes significantly to wildfire activity.
Seasonal winds — the Santa Ana winds in the south and Diablo Winds in the north — also contribute to the spread of wildfires by fanning the flames with their gusts. These winds typically reach their highest frequency in October.
The fire season across California has evolved
Climate change is blurring the traditional regional differences in wildfires in California. Overall, the wildfire risk is increasing across the state. And as CAL FIRE is working to update risk maps (which are expected to be released in the fall), it anticipates that the highest risk areas will expand.
“Twenty years ago, Southern California had designated brush areas… and Northern California, not so much — that’s all changed now. Wildfire is statewide,” says Janet Ruiz, director of strategic communications for the Insurance Information Institute, based in Hidden Valley Lake, California. She continues, “We don’t seem to have a difference in our seasons as much as we used to.”
With larger portions of the state facing greater fire potential, it is becoming harder for the U.S. Forest Service to deploy fire-management and mitigation operations like controlled burns, since there is a greater risk of those fires escaping containment.
More wildland development means more dangerous fires
The state’s rugged topography has always made firefighting a challenge, but more development is making it worse. “A lot of our fires are in very steep, mountainous terrain,” Clements says, which gives flames the opportunity to spread quickly as they race up slopes and through canyons.
Human activity increasingly encroaches on the state’s rural, forested wilderness. Development of homes, farms and businesses along the edge of what is known in forestry jargon as the wildland-urban interface magnifies the risk that fires will spread rapidly, escape containment and threaten people and property.
“Mountain communities have always been at risk, but now we’re building tract homes in areas that are high fire-danger zones,” says Clements. “We’ve got a lot of growth, a lot of suburban sprawl up into the hills. Those hills are all steep, and they’re covered with brush.”
The presence of people also heightens the risk that a power line, vehicle or another element of human infrastructure will ignite a spark.
Tips for hardening your home for wildfires
With the concern that fire season is getting worse in California, wildfire preparedness is essential. Experts urge California homeowners to minimize their home’s fire risk through mitigation measures — also called hardening — that strengthen the home’s defense.
Californians — and others in high-risk areas — should make sure to harden the main structure of their house as well as outside areas, including yards, patios and outbuildings. The main goal is to reduce flammability which can destroy your home and cause flames to spread.
To prepare your home for wildfires, start at the top: on your home’s roof. Embers landing on roofs is a major cause of damage. The most vulnerable roofs are those constructed of wood or shingles. Metal, tile or non-combustible composites are less likely to burn. Any cracks, crevices or gaps between pieces of material should be covered or sealed to prevent ember incursion.
Since your roof is your first line of defense during wildfire season, it should be made of fire-resistant or fireproof materials, as should eaves and soffits. Vents, chimneys and stovepipe outlets should be covered with metal mesh fine enough to block embers.
Exterior walls made of concrete, stucco or materials treated to be fire-resistant also offer protection, as do dual-paned windows and tempered glass, since heat can shatter ordinary glass and give fire an entry point. Decks and fences should also be constructed of fire-retardant or fireproof materials.
Aside from being conscious about the materials you use in and on your home, making sure you have a clean yard matters, too. Keep your property clear of dry, dead vegetation — you may even be required to do this in order to comply with your local Fire Code. Remove brush, branches and the like away from your home’s foundation, and keep trees trimmed back so a crown fire — when fire jumps from one treetop to the next — doesn’t start an inferno right above your roof. Don’t forget about your gutters: make sure those are clean from dead leaves and pine needles.
Taking these wildfire protection steps decreases the likelihood that you will have to file a large claim on your homeowners insurance policy, or lose your house altogether. According to the USDA Forest Service, most homes that are destroyed by a wildfire are ignited by embers and small flames. Home hardening techniques increase your home’s survivability.
