Forest Fires in the West

Why are forest fires such a hot topic in the west? The smoke from these fires were seen in New England which shows just how big these fires are. The fires take out thousands of acres of land every year and the year of 2021 has been one of the worst.  

Some websites like California Fire show a map presenting that there are many fires all over CA happening.Many forest fires start from lightning strikes and then the fires spread and destroy everything.This is caused because California gets a large percentage of its moisture from the fall and winter. This makes the summer very dry making it very easy to start fires. These fires can last weeks and they can branch off and spread rapidly. 

Some plants and animal species could be extinct.The General Sherman tree is a sequoia tree and is the largest tree in the world.Firefighters in the area put a fire resistant blanket around the tree to protect it. The Los Angeles Times said that trees need fire to reproduce so fires might seem like they are all destruction but they are a phase in the life cycle.

 NBC news has reported many homes have been lost because of the fires. Fire crews start evacuations if necessary to save as many civilians as possible.Boy scout camps are also on high alert when these fires are in the area . The firefighters are constantly trying to contain fires but they can take days to complete and there are many fires happening at once.