Link to Article: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Homes-evacuated-in-Santa-Cruz-Mountains-as-new-12283892.php
On Tuesday, October 17, a wildfire broke out in the Santa Cruz mountains and forced those near the Boulder Creek area to evacuate immediately. Over 600 firefighters attempted to contain the fires but unfortunately, at least 5 were injured. The fire went so far as to reach the southwest of San Jose. Additionally, according to SFGATE, only 5% of the fire was able to be contained.
The NorCal fires have been intensifying for a couple of weeks now and the issue continues to persist. While the wildfires are taking place mainly in Sonoma and Napa, as well as some SoCal locations, they're seemingly getting closer and closer to the center of the bay area. One of Santa Cruz residents says that while he was aware of the fires, he never imagined he would be in a situation where he had to evacuate his home because of them.
This seems to be the case for many of us, we don’t take direct action until we are being threatened by such issues. Therefore, what can we do in order to prevent or be prepared for emergencies like these? How can we help those who have been impacted by such tragedies? Is enough being done?
6 comments:
Especially being in a drought for years we need to prepare for the worst. My family and I keep canned food in our cars, along with a first aid kit and extra blankets. We mostly do this in preparation of an earthquake, but this can also be used for any emergency. I would say the obvious answer to how we can help is by donating clothes, toiletries and even food. I'm sure for anyone that lost their home to the fire would take anything they can. It won't help in containing the fire but it will help those in need.
As the US has faced many horrific natural disasters lately, it is essential that people here in California and other places prepare a plan in case a natural disaster such as a fire or an earthquake comes our way. Raising awareness and reminding people of the appropriate actions to take if such a disaster comes is necessary. People need to have home evacuation plans, and they need to prepare a kit with basic necessities that is easily accessible. Earthquake and fire drills in schools are a good way to help remind kids of these plans. In addition, like Melanie said, we can donate what we can to help those who have already experienced the fire. Since the fires, many organizations and local stores have opened up donation drives that allow people to drop off their donations that will be given to the people in need, and this is a good way to help those who have been affected.
The best thing to do is do educate people on how they can be prepared for an event like this, which entails ensuring they have proper means of communication with friends and family, emergency supplies and places to which they can evacuate. Educating not only adults but children is also essential in possible environments such as these, to help ensure everyones safety in these dangerous times.
Relating to the idea that "we don’t take direct action until we are being threatened by such issues," I think this can be applied on a much larger scale. This incredible rise in natural disasters is not normal and not random. Hurricanes are caused by warm water currents in the ocean, and it since since 2014 every single year has broken the record for the hottest recorded year on history. Global warming is contributing to the warm ocean currents and the destructive hurricane seasons. The hot, dry conditions in California and uncharacteristically high wind speeds have caused these wildfires to get extremely out of control on a massive scale. Global warming is an issue that has already begun to threaten us, but some people and politicians still refuse to acknowledge it or take action against it. We need to take action not only as a nation, but as a cooperative international community, to create effective policy to protect our environment and slow climate change so that we can try to prevent as many of these tragedies as we can.
I agree with the global warning theory, but I also read somewhere that PG&E and the electrical wires played a factor in one if not all the wildfires so I think that we also need to look for ways to make sure that if PG&E did indeed play a roll in the start of the wildfires that they are held accountable.
Well, there isn't really much that we can do to prevent something like this. In order to help in situations like these, we should have shelters ready when a wildfire breaks out, so they have somewhere to go if they have to evacuate. Instead of them roaming the roads looking where to go. We as citizens who are not affected by this can donate food to the charity organizations . that are helping with the fire, or donate $$. I don't really know if enough is being done to help with these type of situations.
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