Sophie Bajaj, Blog Editor
@sbajajcourant
Many of us turn on our local news to see the devastating footage of California burning to pieces. Although the California Wildfire issue may not seem too terrifying to us, we tend to lose sight of the impact that this natural disaster is leaving on families, businesses, and innocent people’s lives because of how far away from us it is.
The world tinted Orange in Northern California. The smoke had turned everything bright orange and foggy. Photo contributed by my uncle, Pat Morgan. This apocalyptic photo shows the edge of evaluation zone in Santa Rosa, California. Photo contributed by my cousin, Sam Morgan. The blazing fire surrounds the winery only 20 feet away from the sign before making its way towards the rest of the winery. Photo contributed by my uncle, Pat Morgan.
This may seem like an issue 3,000 miles away from us but, the Wildfires fires have truly affected lives close to home. If you’re like me and you have some relatives or friends in the California area, you would know that the wildfires have caused more catastrophic damage to family-run businesses and homes than we are aware of.
Along with many others, my uncle, who lives in California owns a wine business in St. Helena. His business was greatly impacted by the fires making it difficult for my family to stay positive. The fires caused much damage to the winery, leaving my uncle with acres of land to repair, and a struggling business. According to my Uncle, It’s to be expected that there will be some damage to repair each year moving forward, however, this was the most destructive fire this year. Besides my Uncle, many other people are being hugely affected. More than 67,000 acres have been damaged by the fires at around 30 wineries in Northern California.
Besides just wine vineyards, other businesses including ranches and buildings have been evacuated and demolished by the fires. According to the LA Times around 30,000 homes and businesses were destroyed, by the fires and bankrupted its unity. The LA Times also claims that more than 4 million acres of land were destroyed larger than the state of Connecticut.
The intense wildfires are not only causing destruction in people’s lives but they are also impacting the climate which will ultimately leave a lasting impact on the rest of the world and our environment. Inside Climate News says that the wildfires are continuing to emit gages into the atmosphere that will heat the earth in the future.
