Meet Forrest Clark, the California man authorities say set the Holy Fire near Los Angeles that has burned more than 18,000 acres, and counting:
The So Cal Holy Fire is burning out of control in Orange County. 10,000+ acres have burned, and it's only 5% contained. The sheriff has arrested Forrest Clark, 51, on suspicion of arson. He threatened to burn everything down in a message to the sheriff a week earlier. pic.twitter.com/dWP4k1cIhe
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) August 10, 2018
But climate change, or something:
The #HolyFire is just one sign of climate change – but we can turn it around, UCSD experts say https://t.co/4ssFxzlKsj pic.twitter.com/CkXDpc43jZ
— 10News (@10News) August 7, 2018
And you might not be aware of this, but the latest study on the matter found that “84% of wildfires are caused by humans. From Smithsonian Mag:
Hey, maybe we should focus on this aspect of fires and not CO2 emissions?
According to a press release, researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Earth Lab took a deep dive into the U.S. Forest Service’s Fire Program Analysis-Fire Occurrence Database, analyzing all wildfires recorded between 1992 and 2012. The researchers found that humans caused more than 1.2 million of the 1.5 million blazes in the database.
America can certainly do better:
Rice reports that debris burning starts the most human-caused fires, at 29 percent, with arson the cause of 21 percent of fires. Equipment use causes 11 percent of fires, while campfires and children playing with fireworks or matches each cause 5 percent of fires. The Fourth of July, predictably, is the biggest day for wildfires, with 7,762 fires ignited on that date over the 21-year study period.
Crews are busy now trying to extinguish the blaze which is threatening homes on the outskirts of the town of Lake Elsinore:
Crews drop fire retardant on raging #HolyFire in Southern California. The wildfire has burned more than 18,000 acres and triggered a state of emergency. https://t.co/eCm0EOopNi pic.twitter.com/JoMwBZNRpJ
— ABC News (@ABC) August 10, 2018
Insane video of the fire fight in Lake Elsinore. Fire fighters working so hard to save homes. Stay safe! #holyfire pic.twitter.com/U4MdCXJI0Y
— Leslie Lopez (@abc7leslielopez) August 10, 2018
Above #LakeElsinore, flames suddenly leapt up, very intense heat, and fire crews hit it with water, before a chopper swept in. #HolyFire. @KNX1070 pic.twitter.com/Wzmtppyiu5
— Jon Baird (@KNXBaird) August 10, 2018
#HolyFire blazing up the hill in Lake Elsinore right at the backyard of this home at North Crest & Edgewood. It burned up to the fence and the. moved along in the brush. 3:35 PM Thursday. @CBSLA #KCAL9 pic.twitter.com/ke2yjcxbHZ
— Nicole Comstock (@ComstockNEWS) August 9, 2018
Prayers up to all the firefighters keeping people safe:
"You could just hear the crackle." Winds, temperatures expected to pick up again today after #HolyFire's destructive day yesterday https://t.co/SDBxahIR54 pic.twitter.com/sdu8FwWWXe
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) August 10, 2018
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