Community Deep Dive: With wildfires in the western U.S. being tied to climate change, what can and should be done to create lasting change motivated by these blazes?

In fact, geographical distribution of natural vegetation around the world has its own beauty-related mainly to soil and the monsoon pattern.  Tropical forests are denser compared to the temperate and present a heterogenic composition which in itself is a great advantage for the ecosystem.  In addition, the faunal composition also plays a role in preserving the tropical character.

Soil moisture content (SMC) greatly influences the composition and diversity of species distribution not only because of the moisture retention potential but even from the microbial population as well.

California with temperate coniferous forests has to some extent the xerophytic adaptation in their needle leaf unlike the tropical forests.  It is also possible that the comparatively less moisture content in the coniferous species would evaporate sooner during peak summer making it vulnerable for a quick burn potential.   This is further compounded by the species density as well - spreading branches during windy days may trigger fire due to friction, as well.

Now that the fire has prepared a ground for better species generation through the addition of ash content, this is the time that the forest officials need to adopt a different strategy to cash on the benefits of the new growth (lower density of conifers) combined with intermittent select species.  Since the pandemic has now been strongly advocating the needle shift from the fossil fuel generation to renewables, it will be an ideal situation for the Californian to seriously work out the statistics on biomass energy as well.   The litter gathered on the ground takes a longer time for decomposition by microbial populations due to the very nature of needle leaf.  The introduction of select indigenous species to achieve heterogenic character of the forest gradually enhances faster microbial action.

Climate change has in fact, resulted in higher temperatures than normal in several parts of the world.  California which has witnessed several forest fires by now as per the documentation, I am sure one can find the true causes of forest fires.  Enlisting them would indicate the major causes some of which could be manmade, as well.   The simultaneous action by the forest officials who are familiar with the routine practices and the other authorities concerned could certainly find a long term suitable solution, in due course.

Since the traffic rules are far more stringent, a little more intense supervision through modern gadgets at strategic locations would help them restrict human-induced fires.

The housing crisis seems to be fueling the promotion of forest fires. I am sure they can find their own solutions in choosing the fire-resistant construction material.

A few quick comments that I hope will add to the conversation. 

We are seeing hourly power price spikes because of transmission line shut downs... although they are not extreme or very frequent  they are fairly significant during the hours in which they occur. And given the current condition of the grid in California these instances are very limited. 

I would have thought that occlusion and reduced production would have had a larger impact on grid reliability but the weather and load has cooperated. A key take away from the recent reliability issues is that more generation capacity is needed to overcome unforeseen renewable energy production challenges. 
 

Similarities can be made between the current conditions in California and when the polar vortex hit the northeast ... in both cases generation that was thought to be very reliable was not able to produce at expected levels during times of peak use, resulting in overall system supply challenges.  

Hi Guys:

Some information and a few upcoming posts on this subject.

The good news with these fires is:

1. as far as I know none was sparked by PG&E equipment, although they have resorted to Public Safety Power Shutoffs once. This hi my home in the Sierras (I was down here in Livermore). The warnings and notifications were prompt and thorough, and the duration of the shutoff seemed shorter than the ones last year.

2. The major fires around the Bay Area are almost out, but there a few really big ones North and South of us that CAL FIRE is just starting to control. See the link to CAL FIRE's Incident page below.

https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/

3. After 30 days of Spare the Air (really bad air quality from the smoke), we are out of this stretch today (but still foggy).

The bad news is that the wildfires are much more widespread this year, covering the whole West Coast.

At least in California, most of these fires were started by the incident described in the post linked below.

I have decided to write a major update on two posts from two years ago (minor update last year, linked below). This year is already a record year for wildfires, and the fire season usually doesn't end until late November. This also looks like a record hurricane season.  The final link below is a tweet from CAL FIRE discussing this season.

https://www.energycentral.com/c/ec/fires-and-storms-%E2%80%93-part-1-rev-b

https://www.energycentral.com/c/ec/fire-and-storms-%E2%80%93-part-2-rev-b

-John

Normally, I automatically go into "solutionize" mode and after watching some of the maps of the fires, it occured to me that the California fires seem to be "coincidently" close to the lines of the St Andreas fault..or am i mistaken? So on the assumption that they are possibly linked, I am wondering if we need to consider short term measures first - (even in accordance with Disaster Management protocols) and then medium/long term measures with climate change and decarbonisation solutions high on the implementation agenda?

Unmanaged renewable fuel is burning, uncontrolled. Yes, atmospheric carbon levels push the biomass growth rate of non-native plants. Perhaps dozens of other environmental blunders.

The West is just like the dust bowl of 90 years ago. The dust bowl was solved by honest science leadership. Honest science is now very hard to find.

Climate politics is extremely dangerous. Pushing the fiber optic super-network in Walter Mondale's super-computer Minnesota in 1981, following the war in Asian rice paddies, makes me wonder if modern politics can solve anything. Honest science doesn't have a chance in public debate against the "give me free money" alliance. Some day soon food will be scarce because all the great farmers are long past retirement age.

Matt, all of these effects were predicted over thirty years ago. Only when entire cities are burned to the ground does the public pay attention.

What can we do to best harness and create results to fight climate change? Do something else that was predicted thirty years ago, too, and the the California Council on Science and Technology emphasized 10 years ago - build out nuclear plants as fast as possible. If we had done what France started doing 45 years ago, our grid would be 100% carbon-free now. Instead, we're wasting our time with intermittent, renewable toys that are not up to the task, and never will be. Enough is enough.

If I sound frustrated, I am. I am very, very frustrated. It's starting to look like humankind will not be able to solve a problem that it's caused - not because it lacked the technology, or the resources, but because Homo Sapiens is too stupid.