The 2021 wildfire season involves wildfires on multiple continents. Even at halfway through the calendar year, wildfire seasons were larger than in previous history, with increased extreme weathercaused by climate change (such as droughts and heat waves) strengthening the intensity and scale of fires.[1]
Below is a partial list of articles on wildfires from around the world in the year 2021.
As of September 14, 2021, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that 44,647 wildfires in the United States had burned 5.6 million acres of land.[4] Similarly, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) announced that 6,317 wildfires burned 10.34 million acres.[5] Initially, the NIFC declared that the United States and Canada had a preparedness level of 5, meaning it had the potential to exhaust national firefighting resources.[6] Due to the earliness and severity of the wildfire season, the United States and Canada were unable to provide each other with aid as in previous years.[7] However, by September 20, 2021, the national preparedness level was reduced to 4 and 1 for the United States and Canada, respectively.[8]
Experts say that climate change catalyzed the early wildfire season by exacerbating environmental conditions during the dry season.[9] Furthermore, the North American wildfire season was predicted to be severe due to record drought conditions and high spring temperatures in the West.[10] More than 75% of the western United States experienced drought conditions, with 21% of these conditions being deemed as "exceptional drought," which is the most extreme level of drought.[11] These extreme conditions result in a lack of moisture on the ground that is imperative for combating wildfires.[12] The severity of the 2021 wildfire season can be observed in places such as Arizona. There were 311 early wildfires in the first four months of the year in Arizona, compared to 127 in the same period in 2020.[13]
The New England Journal of Medicine predicts that not only will the risk of wildfires worsen along with climate change but so will mortality and morbidity rates from burns, wildfire smoke, and mental health effects.[14] The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the health impacts of wildfires stem from smoke and ash and include "burns and injuries, eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, decreased lung function, including coughing and wheezing, pulmonary inflammation, bronchitis, exacerbations of asthma, and other lung diseases, and exacerbation of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure."[15] Haze from West Coast fires East Coast cities,[16][17] and particulate pollution caused unhealthy air quality in New Hampshire in July 2021.[18] Both of these instances put public health at risk.
Furthermore, the 2021 wildfire season has been particularly detrimental to human health due to its role in COVID-19 transmission. Francesca Dominici, a professor and data scientist from Harvard University reported to CNN that the air pollution caused by fine particulate matter from wildfires is "an additional vehicle for spreading the virus even faster."[19] Additionally, the respiratory illnesses associated with wildfires make people more vulnerable to COVID-19.[20]
Liesel Ritchie and Duane Gill refer to the difficulty to describe the extent of damage caused by disaster as “invisible trauma," thus “creating an ambiguity of harm."[21] Damage to mental health is particularly difficult to measure. However, wildfires can result in traumatic experiences such as property loss and displacement.[14] In Montana, evacuation orders have displaced around 600 people.[22] A study conducted at UCLA has shown that this may lead to "solastalgia," which describes the psychological implications following the loss of landscape.[23] Moreover, people living in areas affected by wildfires are more likely to develop other mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and insomnia, due to the fear, stress, isolation, and uncertainty that results from a wildfire.[24]
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) divides resolution into two phases: response and recovery. The response phase involves obtaining and distributing immediate necessities, such as "temporary shelter, food, water, hygiene supplies, animal support (both domestic and large animals), cash, and livelihood supports."[8] The recovery phase focuses on restoration and includes "the rebuilding of homes or repair of damage, debris clean-up, soil remediation, temporary housing, physical and mental health, agricultural support, and livelihood/income support."[8]
Flames and plumes of smoke from the Tiger Fire can be seen from Spring Valley, Arizona overnight on July 6, 2021Haze from the West Coast fires in Littleton, Massachusetts on July 26, 2021
^Eisenman, David P., Kyaw, May M.T., Eclarino, Kristopher. “Review of the Mental Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke, Solastalgia, and Non-Traditional Firefighters,” UCLA Center for Healthy Climate Solutions, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, & Climate Resolve. Los Angeles, CA. March, 2021.
