California and surrounding states have been and will be facing some difficult times if change does not occur. Just this year over 8,687 fires have taken place in California and over 4,000,000 acres have been incinerated, according to CalFire.

Last year roughly 5,300 fires took place and over 40,483 acres where lost (CalFire). Even though wildfires in California may not come as a surprise, the scale in which these fires are progressing poses a threat to the community members and to the environment. Already over 35 lives have been lost, millions displaced, and thousands of homes and business destroyed. It has forced people to restart their entire lives.

The environment has also taken a heavy hit. It is said that due to the monumental amount of burning that has taken place, it has caused the greatest amount, historically, of unhealthy air according to CalFire. Experts say that the problem is far from over because of how dry the environment is in California. All the fallen timber and shrubs that layer the ground dries up and makes it more susceptible to burn. And when it catches fire, its very difficult to stop because of how quickly the blaze covers ground.

The only solution to the problem is immediate upkeep of our forests in these dry environments. This involves “clearing out” all the dead fallen timber that layers the ground. This is a practice that many European states use to protect their ecosystems, and it shows from their beautiful forests that face little to no problems.