Natural disasters are happening all over the world––even right here in the US. However, SARS-CoV-2, commonly known as coronavirus, and the 2020 Presidential Election seem to be all that news articles are talking about. Do not get me wrong: both of these topics are very important and could be considered life or death. But those aren’t the only catastrophes happening.
Here in the United States, there are currently ten states reporting 42 large wildfires. Within the large fires, there are numerous small fires. These fires take up 3,134,482 acres of land. To put that into perspective, one acre is just a little smaller than one baseball field. Now, imagine over 3 million baseball fields on fire.
This is way more than the expected wildfires that occur every year. California’s state record for wildfires has been surpassed, while Oregon has nearly doubled their yearly average for wildfire acreage.
In just 2020, thousands of people have needed to evacuate their homes, billions of dollars in property damage have occurred, over 30 people have died and countless more have been injured with multiple firefighters among them.
Below is a comprehensive list of the totals in each state currently reported as of October 30, 2020.
Arizona
Total Fires: 4
Total Acreage: 47,932 acres
California
Total Fires: 18
Total Acreage: 2,266,300 acres
Colorado
Total Fires: 5
Total Acreage: 448,059 acres
Idaho
Total Fires: 5
Total Acreage: 33,891 acres
Montana
Total Fires: 1
Total Acreage: 6,009 acres
New Mexico
Total Fires: 1
Total Acreage: 10,142 acres
Oregon
Total Fires: 2
Total Acreage: 27,417 acres
Utah
Total Fires: 2
Total Acreage: 95,591 acres
Washington
Total Fires: 2
Total Acreage: 24,995 acres
Wyoming
Total Fires: 2
Total Acreage: 177,376 acres
If it isn’t happening in front of our own eyes, we may not fully grasp the seriousness of the situation. However, the fires across the United States are very real. There are many ways you can help prevent wildfires in your area, including cleaning up dead trees and leaves, always being within view of your campfire and not burning on windy days. Here is a list of ways to help current wildfires in other states which can include offering shelter to those you know or donating blood to the American Red Cross.
As always, it is important to remember that we share this Earth together, and it is the only Earth we get. Protect it like your life depends on it—because it does.