Skyler O'Kelley
Apr 24, 2025
The L.A. and NJ wildfires dominated the news cycle recently, showcasing the destructive impact of the fires on the people who live there. Some may wonder how these fires grew to be so devastating, some might be surprised that the answer lies in the changing climate. In this Digest, we’ll go over how climate change has impacted wildfires, their environmental impact, and the available solutions.
Climate change has touched every aspect of our lives, wildfires are no exception. With rising temperatures the intensity and chances of wildfire occurrence increase with each degree the planet warms. Warmer temperatures mean drier conditions, which dries out vegetation and lengthens summers, creating perfect environments for wildfires to burn hotter. Droughts have become more frequent due to global warming, lasting longer and becoming more severe continuing to dry out vegetation and provide plenty of fuel for the fires.
Some observant readers might note that there have been reports that with climate change comes increased rainfall, which would help mitigate some of the dry conditions, right? Sort of. You see, climate change messes with weather patterns and precipitation which can result in increased rainfall. Should this occur during a fire, it can be helpful in its suppression, but more likely this rain falls after the fire. This leads to more vegetation growth which provides more fuel. In addition, heavy rainfall after forest fires burn to the ground causes landslides to trigger more easily. Climate change impacting weather patterns also impacts lighting. According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare Organization (IFAW), “the warmer the air temperature, the more moisture it can hold. As global temperatures rise as a result of climate change, the air contains more evaporated water. This, in turn, boosts the chance of thunderstorms, leading to more violent storms and more lighting strikes. Scientists have calculated that for every 1ºC warmer our planet gets; lightning strikes increase by about 12%. This means that if things continue as they are going without intervention, the planet will experience around 50% more strikes by 2100.” Lighting strikes are one of the biggest natural causes of wildfires, striking the dry, fuel-abundant ground can spark a wildfire to begin quickly and with little warning. Another way climate change affects the weather is by causing more extreme wind events which can result in the rapid spread of wildfires. When the wind shifts and changes directions quickly, this causes fires to be unpredictable and difficult to contain. Globally, fire season has lengthened by 27%, especially in the Amazon, Mediterranean, and western North America where we’ve seen devastating fires occur frequently in the last five years (IFAW). All of these factors have contributed to the worsening impacts of wildfires.
Wildfires do not always harm their environment. They are necessary on occasion for numerous reasons. Firefighters often assess forested areas for the potential of a serious burn or mega-fire. If they deem that the forest has a high chance of accommodating a particularly destructive fire, they’ll take steps to mitigate the damage. For example, if a forest has too much fuel such as fallen trees, dry needles, or a drought has occurred recently they’ll work to remove the excess fuel. This can be done through regular clean-ups or prescribed burns. Prescribed burns occur when the firefighters intentionally light parts of the fuel on fire to remove them for bigger burns. This is done in a controlled manner during the off-season to prevent the fire from getting out of hand. While there have been instances where prescribed burns have gotten out of control, firefighters do their best to prevent this whenever possible.
Another reason forest fires are important is for the health of the forest. Certain trees have evolved to only release their seeds when it gets hot enough during a burn. They’ve developed this way because forest fires allow for sunlight to reach the ground, which some species of trees need to grow. Forest fires are necessary to sustain forests for many years, the problems only arise when things get out of control or are a result of a sudden occurrence, like a lightning strike. With all this being said, fires that get out of control can cause some serious damage to the environment. The biggest factor is the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in 2023 extreme forest fires in Canada released roughly 640 million metric tons of carbon. IFAW says that “Globally, [wildfires] add around 5 to 8 billion tonnes of CO2 each year.” Trees hold a lot of carbon within their trunks and are some of the most powerful carbon pullers we have, so burning large portions of forests can result in huge amounts of carbon being released, exacerbating the effect of climate change. For more information about climate change and how carbon emissions contribute to its worsening effects, check out my Digest article on the basics of climate change. Additionally, forest fires contribute to air pollution, which can aggravate existing diseases and issues in things like the lungs, heart, brain/nervous system, skin, gut, kidney, eyes, nose, and liver. Air pollution has also been linked to cognitive impairment and memory loss, and can cause lung cancer. I could keep going on about all the negative environmental impacts that come about as a result of forest fires, but for the sake of brevity, I encourage you to check out the resources section below for more information.
Now that you’re a little more familiar with wildfires and their impact, let’s discuss the solutions we have to prevent wildfires. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) says that “every year, on average human-caused wildfires account for approximately half of all wildfires in the United States.” Many of these can be prevented by understanding good fire safety. For the most part, if you’re planning on lighting fireworks or having a campfire, you should be aware of the current weather conditions, the local environment, and any regulations that are in place. For weather conditions, if the forecast is reading as hot, dry, and windy then avoid lighting anything as these allow stray sparks to travel quickly and can become out of control within a matter of moments. Next, when choosing a location for a fire, make sure to build it in an open location far from flammables. The U.S. Department of Interior suggests multiple things to keep in mind when choosing a location, such as selecting a “flat, open location away from flammable materials such as logs, brush, or decaying leaves and needles.” You may need to scrape or brush away things like leaves, needles, or grass down to the mineral soil to provide such a space. Lastly, check and see if there are any temporary bans on campfires or fireworks at the time. These bans are put in place during droughts and dry seasons to mitigate the chance of a wildfire breaking out. If that’s the case, opt for a campfire on the TV or laser shows in place of fireworks.
As an individual, there is a lot you can do to prevent wildfires (check out the resources below!) but sometimes a fire isn’t started by a human. Once the fire is already raging, the best way to support its suppression is to donate and/or volunteer for firefighter crews. By providing additional support to our first responders, we can help quicken the suppression of wildfires. If that’s not an option for you, then sharing accurate information about the fire and support avenues with others helps as well. There are options to help mitigate the damage caused by wildfires, but staying educated and aware is important.
Resources
Videos
TED - Why certain naturally occurring wildfires are necessary
Wall Street Journal - The Science of Wildfires: Why They're Getting Worse
PBS NewsHour - Warming climate created ‘perfect storm’ for catastrophic fires, NASA researcher says
Wall Street Journal - Fire captain breaks down the L.A. wildfire disaster
Articles
National Interagency Fire Center - Great for wildfire education, preparation, mitigation, and intervention information
U.S. Department of Interior - Wildland Fire - This is a good resource to understand the things being done to mitigate wildfires each year
Connections of climate change and variability to large and extreme forest fires in southeast Australia - A study done in 2021, a bit of a lengthy read but if you’re into reading studies then this and the study below are great for finding the connection between climate change and the increased intensity of forest fires.
USDA - Briefing: Climate and wildfire in western U.S. forests - This is a little older (2014) but still has some relevant information about climate change and wildfires.
OurWorldInData - Wildfires - A great resource to return to because it gets updated frequently with data surrounding wildfires the world
Inside Climate News - This is free but you will need to put in an email to keep reading. This article talks about how Climate Change makes lightning strikes more frequent.
Miscellaneous