While it's true that wildfires sometimes happen naturally, like from a lightning strike, the Western Fire Chiefs Association says that 90% of wildfires are manmade. Once started, the Western Fire Chiefs Association also says that they spread at a speed of over 14 miles per hour, or four minutes per mile. Weather conditions not only contribute greatly to the cause of wildfires, but they also contribute to the spread, depending on wind speed and direction.
The strength, burn season, and duration of modern wildfires all go back to climate change. The Western Fire Chiefs Association says that as the globe gets drier, it's harder for clouds to form. This increases the likelihood of drought, which causes more wildfires to start, especially if people are thoughtless and do things like flick away cigarettes in the woods or don't completely put out campfires, as National Geographic explains.
The destructive effects of wildfires aren't limited to flames torching structures and flesh. The smoke produced from wildfires can carry hundreds, even thousands of miles, like smoke from Ontario and Quebec's June 2023 fires traveling all the way south to Georgia in the U.S. Even worse, the European Commission says that smoke becomes more toxic the longer it lingers in the air. When inhaled, it damages cells and creates unstable molecules, i.e., free radicals. Medical News Today links free radicals to every disease from Alzheimer's to cancer, and Parkinson's to diabetes.
