US West Coast Wildfires

10/22/2020

Amrit Sian & Bahram Negahban

Nearly 100 fires are raging across the west coast of the United States.

The western coast of the United States is wrestling with nearly 100 wildfires that have uprooted thousands of people and caused at least 15 deaths. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there are 96 large fires in the western US with more than 3.4 million acres being burned so far. Already having caused thousands of dollars in damage, the blazes have hit Oregon heavily. The flames are being fuelled by windy conditions and heat waves which do not appear to be ending anytime soon. Wind gusts of up to 45 mph are not making it any easier for firemen to put out the rampaging wildfires. Oregon’s governor stated this “could be the greatest loss of human life and property” to fires in state history.

The wildfires across the region were caused by a number of reasons, varying from wrecked power lines to a gender reveal party gone wrong. But why have the fires become so bad? Experts affirm the fires to have been exacerbated by the rise in extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and tornadoes, which is part of a trend caused by the larger problem of climate change. Climate change itself is not the cause for the blazes, but it has helped to set the conditions for the massive flames. In addition to climate change, other factors like brush overgrowth have contributed to the cause of the fires.

The streak of disaster has left millions of Americans perturbed but it has barely impacted the campaign for the white house. President Trump is already facing multiple challenges varying from the pandemic to joblessness and cannot afford to spend time on another critical topic. For Mr.Biden on the other hand, the spreading fires are a reminder to the Democratic party’s progressive base that he does not embrace some of the most liberal elements of the new Green Deal, a grand plan for tackling climate change. Though many hope to return to their homes and normal lifestyles soon, that dream may not come true as the fires do not appear to be receding soon.

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B-Line students write articles that capture what it means to be part of the Barstow community, and record, review and analyze current events.

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Ms. Scott is an expert in communications, both spoken and written. Besides leading the staff of student journalists at B-Line, she teaches Advanced Debate and middle school Introduction to Debate, International Studies and Current Events.

She attended high school in the Wichita area where she occupied herself with debate and writing. Ms. Scott obtained her degree in secondary education (speech/ theatre) with a minor in communication studies from Kansas State University. She received her master’s degree in communication from Baylor University in 2018.

She believes every student should be a capable communicator and self-advocate shaping their own future. She finds that both mass communication settings like B-Line and rhetorical settings like debate prepare students for their future.