About the California Wildfires
Two massive wildfires burn at opposite ends of California. Both fires started on November 8, 2018. The Camp Fire has burned 149,000 acres and the Woolsey Fire has burned 98,362 acres thus far. Below are facts sourced from experts to help you understand the severity of the fires and what we can do together to move forward.
Wildfire Facts:
- Some CA forests have 1,000 trees per acre, where 40-60 per acre would be ideal.
- Since the 1970s, the amount of forest that burns any given year in the Western United States has increased by about 1000 percent.
- More than half of the U.S. Forest Service budget is used to battle wildfires.
- Nationally, 11 out of the last 19 years, more than 10,000 sq miles have burned.
- Nationally, the average wildfire season is 78 days longer than it was in 1970.
- 358 weeks of drought since 2011 in CA.
California has worked tirelessly to reduce wildfire risk in their state, but they cannot do it alone.
Keep your eyes on our Action Center for ways you can urge Congress to support the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program in FY19 and FY20 to reduce the risk of wildfire and support resilient forests.
Share this infographic! Right click and hit ‘save as,’ then share on your social media channels to help us spread the facts about the recent fires in California.