How can I stay positive regarding the wildfires?

It can be really hard in the face of so much destruction. I don't know how much anyone can specifically stay positive in the face of disasters like this -

but I can give you some thoughts about how to let hope live alongside everything else you're feeling about this, and how to avoid spiraling and remember that this is not proof that we're doomed.

Possibly relevant note lol is that I've lived my whole life in California, so suffice to say figuring out how to move forward among the consequences and destruction of massive wildfires is something I'm definitely not new to.

I remember walking to my classroom in elementary school, about 20 years ago now, and it was literally snowing ash around me. This too shall pass.

Take a few deep breaths. I know it's cliche but it's also important

Zoom out in terms of perspective: Wildfires can make the sky look apocalyptic (like I said, I have lots of experience with this!), but they are regional, and they always end. These wildfires are awful but this specific wave of fires is happening in just one country in a huge, huge world. There's far more land that isn't burning

Canada is about to get substantial international aid in fighting the wildfires - there are already 200 additional firefighters headed over from the US and France, and Canada (Quebec specifically) is also already in talks with Costa Rica, Portugal, and Chile about additional firefighters/resources. Help is on the way and these numbers really will make a big difference, and as the disaster continues (unfortunately it is uh...pretty early in fire season), more help will be sent. People are doing what they can to help, because in the face of disaster, that's what we're wired to do

There are actually MUCH better fire management plans than just about anyone is using, esp in North America but that we COULD implement and increasingly WILL going forward. A lot of the wildfire situation these days is because of the West's incredibly wrongheaded derision toward traditional Indigenous land and ecosystem management practices, including cultural prescribed burns that keep massive wildfires from happening. California in particular is already partnering with several First Nations to revive prescribed burns, to significant success. As fires continue to be terrible, more and more places will get on board with this. We can and will implement practices that will truly change our situation

Cultural burns work because, ironically, the reason for the wildfires is that "is that we've been so good at putting out every fire possible that it has led to overly dense forests and a buildup of burnable material like branches and dry vegetation" that makes wildfires much worse in a number of ways. At lower intensity, however, as with cultural burns, forest fires can actually have huge environmental benefits

Finally, every time a natural disaster happens like this, as awful and destructive as they are, it serves as a wake-up call for thousands of people and adds both ever-mounting urgency and ever-mounting evidence to the importance of fighting climate change, which really does translate into action. For a lot of people, "saving the environment" feels super distant - but you know what feels super immediate? Saving their homes from burning down (or getting flooded or otherwise destroyed, etc. etc.) In 2021, the UN ran the world's largest climate survey, across 1.2 million people and 50 nations, and almost TWO-THIRDS SAID THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS A GLOBAL EMERGENCY THAT WE NEED TO WORK HARDER TO ADDRESS. Imagine that 10 years ago! That other third of people aside, this really is real and massive progress

Also, every time there's a big disaster like this, climate change deniers look more and more baldly ridiculous. Think about it: How often did you hear US Republicans bullshitting about climate change denial 10 years ago? And how often do you hear them doing it now? In fact, there's increasing evidence that Republicans really are shifting on climate change (mind you they're managing to do it in an obnoxiously somehow pro-fossil-fuel way, but it's still a major sea change). Some of them are literally calling for a clean energy transition, and Kevin McCarthy himself (guy in charge of the US House right now) created a task force for to a conservative climate change agenda that acknowledges climate change is real. There's now a conservative climate conference that does active lobbying and a House Conservative Climate Caucus, which somehow has SIXTY MEMBERS. Again, something that would've been unimaginable just six or seven years ago.

Every acre that the fires burn this year is an acre that's pretty guaranteed to not burn next year, for what that's worth. (And I do think it's worth mentioning, esp with such a high number of acres)

The battles are going to be hard, but I truly believe that even the ones we lose often bring us closer to winning the war.

Fires burn, but life always grows back.

   End of winter is the season - both for ‘controlled burns*’ like these old photos from my pasture, and for wildfires. Our county has had an odd lack of wildfires for quite a few years, now. I can remember when my husband and I were younger there were weeks he’d hardly be home at all, running from one small wildfire to another or working to stop a bigger one. In our area, fires aren’t as massive or destructive as the western usa, so none of this ever makes the news. There have been several fires this week, and my husband left extra early this morning to head out to one. I’m hoping for rain today, to settle the situation down.

* Controlled burns, aka ‘prescribed fires’ are extremely fun to watch and make areas bloom and flourish beautifully in the following growing season.

Indigenous fire management began more than 11,000 years ago: new research

Wildfire burns between 3.94 million and 5.19 million square kilometres of land every year worldwide. If that area were a single country, it would be the seventh largest in the world. In Australia, most fire occurs in the vast tropical savannas of the country’s north. In new research published in Nature Geoscience, we show Indigenous management of fire in these regions began at least 11,000 years…

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Reasons why ABC fire extinguisher does not respond to class k fires?

Reasons why ABC fire extinguisher does not respond to class k fires? ABC fire extinguishers are dry chemical powder fire extinguishers. They are not the same thing as Class K fire extinguishers. There are reasons why you can’t use ABC fire extinguishers to fight Class K fires. Let’s follow the blog and read the reasons. What is an ABC fire extinguisher? ABC fire extinguisher derived its name…

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Fire and Conservation of Mexico’s Mediterranean Forests 

The Sierra San Pedro Mártir (SSPM) is a mountain range in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. The forest on the SSPM appears simple, dominated by Pinus jeffreyi and other conifers. Its understory is mostly sparse, with ample space between the large, thick-barked pines. Being used to find dense vegetation in natural landscapes, I was curious to understand the processes…

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Book 2 au: sparring sessions and short hair katara

They like to have sparring sessions in order to keep their bending skills sharp. They allow themselves to go all out and not hold back at all cause they know if anyone got hurt, Katara could just heal them

But anyways, wouldn't it be kinda funny if Zuko accidentally burned Katara's hair tho? Aofkqldkkajfjd

The "I think we can save the hairloops" line is from @linnoya-writes thank you for that!! :>>

The Ultimate Guide to Fire Starting: Techniques, Tools, and Tips for Success

Ignite your survival skills with our Ultimate Fire Starting Guide!🔥Master traditional to modern techniques & DIY ideas for safe outdoor adventures. Ready to fuel your wilderness knowledge? Link in bio! #FireStarting #Bushcraft🌲🔥

Introduction Why is fire starting an essential skill, you ask? Well, let’s put it this way: whether you’re a wilderness survival enthusiast or simply someone who enjoys outdoor adventures, knowing how to start a fire is a top survival skill. The ability to create heat and light from the natural surroundings isn’t just a thrilling test of your wilderness survival skills; it’s a practical…

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How Women Discovered How to Play with Fire

Man May Have Discovered Fire, But Women Discovered How To Play With It: An Exploration of Gender and Fire Fire has played a crucial role in human history, shaping the way we live, work, and interact with each other and the world around us. From early hominids who harnessed fire for warmth and protection to modern-day societies that rely on it for energy and industry, fire has been a constant…

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Things that cannot defeat the TARDIS...

Being jettisoned into the Z-Neutrino energy core of the Dalek Crucible.

Being turned into a self cannibalising paradox machine by The Master.

Being shunted into a human body while it's own body gets possessed by a sentient TARDIS devouring asteroid.

Things that can defeat the TARDIS...

One cup of coffee with a splash of cold milk.

kiss me I’m seeing red

din’s champion

“Out in the Klamath Mountains of northern California, fires are rushing through the underbrush, lighting everything they touch between the trees ablaze.

However these aren’t a danger to the rich hardwood forests, they are deliberately set by the Yurok and Karuk tribal nations—as a wildfire prevention strategy of all things.

As strange as it might sound to literally fight fire with fire, it’s something the tribes of these mountains have done for at least 1,000 years according to oral tradition.

Low-level and controlled burnings are in fact an ancient and successful forest-management practice. A cleared forest floor and less fine fuels such as leaves and ferns, makes it more difficult for wildfires to ignite and spread.

Wildfires have raged across California over the last half-decade, and out of these ashes sprouted a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and the tribal nations of the Klamath Mountains.

In 2018 they began collaborating on the Somes Bar Restoration Project to use traditional fire techniques to safeguard 5,570 acres (2,254 hectares) of land covered in white, black, and tan oaks, Douglas fir, red fir, and madrones on steep slopes...

Mongabay reports that some forest managers have seen wildfires reach the edges of the forests managed by the Karuk and Yurok and simply go out on their own due to a combination of fuel-shortage and bigger, healthier trees.” -via Good News Network, 11/23/22

spiky girl

The niigo batch for the prsk wof au

What is the difference between a Class K Fire extinguisher and a Class ABC fire extinguisher? 

Class K fire extinguishers are designed for Class K fires, which involve cooking fats and oil. They contain a wet chemical foam which separates the fuel, oxygen, and heat to extinguish the fire. On the other hand, ABC fire extinguishers handle Class A, B,

What is the difference between a Class K Fire extinguisher and a Class ABC fire extinguisher?  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have a list of fire extinguishers according to the fire classes available.  The fire extinguisher classes are named based on the fire classes we have. In the US, we have five fire classes. Class A fire, class B fire, class C fire, class D fire,…

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The disconnection with our environnement and our ancient techniques, enables this general climate we are in. Climate of fear and confusion, masked by an illusion of control and protection given by the fact that we have a government "above us". Yet ourselves only can protect us from our own ingnorance and indifference. Observe more, listen more, learn more, do more, go out of yourself, reach to others and connect with the outside. Beautiful shots.