Did you know that bark beetles, a type of insect which preys on drought-stricken trees, have sucked the life out of the majority of the forests across the state of California, making already-vulnerable forest areas even more susceptible to fire? As California's severe drought continues to affect our state in immeasurable ways, these ultra-dry forests are literally going up in flames.
The most highly affected area at the moment is in Northern California (specifically Lake County) where a massive fire destroyed over 40,000 acres in less than 12 hours this past weekend. Several rural towns were destroyed in the wake of this terrible fire, left defenseless by the speed and strength of the fast-moving flames. Some people had literally minutes to evacuate and sadly, some weren't even that lucky.
Between the record-breaking high temperatures and the extremely dry vegetation, the fire was given free reign to carve through forests and towns with a vengeance. High winds made the conditions even worse and facilitated the spreading of this massive fire, enabling embers to jump from tree to tree, building to building, with overwhelming speed. There have been more than a dozen fires burning in California since July and the unprecedented drought conditions put us all in a perilous position. Stories like this are reminders for all of us to conserve water in whatever ways we possibly can-- it's truly a matter of life and death in some areas of our state.
As always, reduce, reuse, recyle...and CONSERVE. Small, everyday changes can make a huge difference.