Orange Skies, Wildfires, Climate Change and SB 9 and SB 10

Orange skies due to wildfires were back in Laguna Niguel in Southern California last week. According to local experts there wasn’t really concern given the temperature, humidity and time of year. However, this doesn’t factor in our underlying drought and the increased rate of development both factors that are likely to also increase the probabilities of fires in San Mateo County.

“What we’re seeing that we haven’t seen in years past is these fires are starting and the vegetation is so dry that with any wind behind it — even a normal wind for that area — it’s going to spread faster than we’re used to and faster than we can get our units at the scene,” Orange County Fire Chief, Brian Fennessy told the Los Angeles Times earlier this week.

It turns out that certain topography like the one in San Mateo with hillsides and gullies creates a chimney effect which concentrates the column of smoke, ash and debris. Hot embers can be carried through this effective chimney/tunnel seeding fires either ahead of or behind the main blaze creating real problems for fire fighters trying to project the fires direction based on temperatures and prevailing winds.

Locally increased building throughout the area has created even more hazards both for firefighters trying to contain the fires and residents trying to save their properties. The denser the buildings, the more likely the fire will jump from one structure to the next one and keep the fire going for a longer period especially when buildings are made of wood that becomes fuel for the fire itself.

One of my favorite Professors is Dan Ariely of Duke University. One of the things he talks about is how important it is to not make decisions in silos. I learned this lesson during my time at Intel Corp where the importance of having some decisions always reviewed through the lenses of critical issues was heavily encouraged. You have to wonder if the senators who voted for SB 9 and SB 10 even gave wildfires or climate change a second thought because if they would have, they would never have voted in favor.

You either understand that climate change is happening and agree we can do something about it or maybe you do understand it is happening but think we can’t do anything about it or you neither think we can do anything about it or that it is happening. But to state that you understand it is happening, agree we need and can do something about it and then support SB9 and SB10 is to not understand the inherent conflict between the two. Density has always been an issue especially when we consider air quality and water availability and quality.