Teen Health and Wildfires: Impassioning Youth Climate Action

Southern California raised me to simply accept the reality of wildfires. Living in Santa Clarita our entire lives, my peers and I have become ultimately desensitised to the impact of these ferocious fires. Whether it be driving past the scorched remains of familiar hillsides or staring out of classroom windows to an unrelenting billow of smoke, wildfires regularly incorporate themselves into our lives.The true effects of wildfires, propagated and perpetuated by climate change, must be acknowledged. California fires seep into the mental and physical wellness of every youth member of this region, all the while creating a vicious cycle of climate change.

In analysing the damages of fires in Southern California, one must take into account the physical, noticeable damage. According to the 2019 Statistical Summary from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, from the years 2017 to 2019, wildfire damage led to a total loss of over $546 million [1]. This incredible amount of destruction is only doomed to exponentially increase. Based on the National Fire Incident Reporting System, The NBC4-I’s Team concluded that, “as of September 30, 2020 firefighters logged 8,283 fires of all types within city limits, a 45% increase over the 5,695 recorded during the same nine month period in 2019” [2]. Fire damage has, and will continue to, economically strain Southern California; moreover, the fires leave many Californians displaced and vulnerable. With California racking up 4.09 million acres of wildfire damage in 2020, one must consider the physical and emotional damage this forces on children [3]. 

Emily Jones, a senior at Quartz Hill High School in Lancaster, recalls the time she was evacuated from her home during the Lake Fire in August of 2020: “I think the thing that affected me the most, mentally, was having to pick and choose among my different belongings: what I wanted to keep and leave behind. A lot of the time, you joke around and say, ‘if you could only keep five things what would they be,’ but when you are actually in the situation it’s so hard to wrap your brain around. Having to pick between my different family heirlooms or my personal belongings and be content with leaving stuff to be destroyed took a toll on me emotionally. Once you’re out, you just have to hope and pray that your stuff stays safe.” Emily was one of many families forced to evacuate from this Lake Fire, subject to the will of the flames. However, her house was luckily not damaged or destroyed, unlike the 11,116 structures that were in California alone in 2020 [4]. 

With the constant threat of wildfires in Southern California, youths in this region must practice fire drills at school, and have a prepared list of items to take in case of a fire. These psychological effects were investigated on Australian teens who experienced bushfires: “Results indicated that younger children may be more vulnerable to developing persistent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and disaster-related factors, such as continuing to experience disaster-related loss and life disruption, and having a greater perception of personal life threat” [5]. This natural disaster affects children’s mental health directly. Leading to an increased risk of PTSD, adolescents are disproportionately impacted by these wildfires. This physical and emotional damage is coupled with an even deeper health risk for teens. 

Prolonged exposure to smoke in Southern California is becoming a targeted threat for teens. In a recent study from Stanford University on smoke in Fresno, California, the professor of medicine at Stanford University, Dr. Kari Nadeau, contends that “...teens had an increased amount of inflammatory markers in their blood. That would make them more prone to getting asthma and developing genetic changes to their immune systems” [6]. Smoke disproportionately impacts the health of the youth in California. This could possibly “have irreversible consequences” [7]. Fires have elevated consequences for youth, specifically in terms of physical and emotional damage. Due to Southern California teens facing an overabundance of wildfires, our health is particularly endangered. Therefore, we must stand against wildfires, and even more specifically, climate change. 

Climate change and wildfires - in direct correlation - perpetuate one another. In order to tackle the impacts of wildfires, we must focus on the larger demon that is global warming. The cycle of wildfires and climate change is known as the “Climate Feedback Loop.” Global warming causes drier soil and vegetation which leads to more wildfires. Wildfires, in turn, increase carbon emissions: “In California, the worst days of wildfires have generated emissions that are roughly 4 to 8 times higher than the average daily emissions from all economic activity across the state” [8]. An increase in carbon emissions exacerbates climate change thus creating a cycle – wildfires cause climate change, climate change causes wildfires, and wildfires continue to disproportionately damage teens emotionally and physically. 

7.6 million children are exposed to smoke annually in the United States [7]. Climate change is looming over the nation, threatening to expose even more adolescents. The exponentially increasing surplus of wildfires in California leads to an increased risk of PTSD and immune disorders, and is directly harming teens. To protect this country, the youth must prioritise climate activism. Specifically teens from Southern California, like myself, must oppose this continuous threat. Next time you drive past a burnt hillside, or hear about wildfires in the news, let it motivate you to challenge climate change. Let it represent the youth you are fighting for.

References

[1] D.L Osby, “2019 Statistical Summary,” County of Los Angeles Fire Department, June 2020.  [Online].  Available: https://fire.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2019-Statistical-Summary-May-2020.pd f. [Accessed 15 March 2022].

[2] L, Eric, “LAFD Reports a Staggering Rise In the Number of Fires, Outpacing Any Year in Recent Memory,” NBC Los Angeles, October 10, 2020. [Online] Available: www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/fires-spike-45-in-city-of-los-angeles-data-shows/2442013/.  [Accessed 15 March 2022].

[3] Insurance Information Institute, “Facts + Statistics: Wildfires,” n.d..  [Online].  Available: www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-wildfires. [Accessed 15 March 2022].

[4] California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, “2020 Incident Archive,” CAL FIRE, 2020.  [Online].  Available: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/.  [Accessed 11 April 2022].

[5] I. Townshend, O. Awosoga, J. Kulig, A. P. Botey, B. Shepard and B. McFarlane, “Impacts of Wildfires on School Children: A Case Study of Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada,” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, vol. 33, no.2., August, 2015. Available: http://www.ijmed.org/articles/676/.

[6] ABC News, “New Study Shows How Pollution From Wildfire Smoke Affects Teens' Health,'' December 1, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://abc7news.com/stanford-wildfire-study-smoke-health-effects-pollution-effect-on/8397624/.  [Accessed 15 March 2022].

[7] S. Sengupta, “Wildfire Smoke Is Poisoning California's Kids.  Some Pay a Higher Price,” The New York Times, November 26, 2020.  [Online].  Available: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/26/climate/california-smoke-children-health.html.  [Accessed 15 March 2022].

[8] N. Harris, T. Munroe and K. Levin, “6 Graphics Explain the Climate Feedback Loop Fueling US Fires,” World Resources Institute, September 16, 2020.  [Online].  Available: www.wri.org/insights/6-graphics-explain-climate-feedback-loop-fueling-us-fires.  [Accessed 15 March 2022].

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