California Wildfires 2015 v 2020
California has had many wildfires over the years, but they are only getting worse. They are known to be extremely alarming and can do a lot of damage in small amounts of time. Wildfires are spontaneous and unexpected that can occur in rural and urban areas. In California they are known to damage structures and deplete acres and acres of land in a fast manner.
From February 2015 to December 2015 there were 55 wildfires that burned 300 acres or more. In total there were 157 wildfires in 2015 across California. From February 2020 to November 2020 there have been 102 wildfires that burned 300 acres or more. In total there were 259 wildfires in 2020 across California. The total of acres burned in 2015 was 867,245 compared to 2020 with 4,141,090 acres.
Typically, the longer the fire takes to get to 100% containment the more acres burned. To put out each fire it ranged from less than 24 hours to a tad bit over three months. In 2020 the range was from less than 24 hours to a little less than three months. In some cases during both years there were fires that took longer to contain, but did not do as much damage as others. The longer the fire takes to put out, the more danger the residents of the community and fire personnels put themselves in. This can lead to evacuations, deaths and structural damages.
The number of structural damages in 2015 and 2020 due to wildfires are vastly different. As seen here, most of the damages to structures happened in the 2020 wildfires. In comparing how many acres were burned in 2015 and the structural damages that occurred it seems as though location is key. If the wildfire took place in a non-residential area the number of structural damages is lower than that of a wildfire coming into contact with a residential area.
Between 2015 and 2020 the population per county has had little to know variation. California is a very populated state, but due to the wildfires locations that is where the less dense populations occur.
When comparing the locations of the wildfires in 2015 and 2020 there are some key counties that overlap such as Fresno, Trinity, and Los Angeles.
In conclusion, wildfires are extremely detrimental in the United States, especially in California. As seen above, there are multiple agencies in California to help prevent these wildfires since they are prone to them.