Climate scientists from World Weather Attribution recently attributed the recent Pacific Northwest heat wave to climate change.
As the summers’ sweltering heat reminds us, fire risk is here and now. Last year’s fires were devastating, but the consequences of ongoing global warming tell us a repeat is almost inevitable. The message is that while we hope for the best we should prepare for the worst – a return of fire to our neighborhoods. While the fire may be probable, we are not helpless. The next Southern Oregon Climate Action Now public general meeting will be devoted to a discussion of how we can better prepare for this future. The meeting will be held as a ZOOM event from 6:00 – 7:00 pm on Tuesday July 27th. While the program is free, those interested in attending will need to Register at https://socan.eco/events/ to receive the URL.
The program will feature our friends from KSWild: Joseph Vaile, Climate Director, and Alexi Lovechio, National Forest Organizer. They will offer tips on how to prepare your family, home and community for a wildfire emergency using KS Wild’s new Forest & Fire Toolkit. This toolkit is a ‘one stop shop’ for all the resources we need to acquaint ourselves with the forests of the Siskiyou region and how to prepare our home for a wildfire. Included are invaluable resources on how to harden your home and create defensible space, funding opportunities for home defense, post fire checklist and financial assistance, and steps to plan and be ready for a wildfire emergency and evacuation.
We know that the Siskiyou region is experiencing warmer temperatures, with longer periods of dry weather and drought. Increasing residential development into forestlands places more homes and communities at-risk from wildfire. There is no future free from wildfire, but there are actions we can take to help prepare for the next one. This is an opportunity to learn what we can do.