Malibu Fires Essay examples -- essays research papers

Malibu Fires     Human beings are able to adapt to almost any environment, unfortunatelysometimes we take advantage of our natural surroundings. We find ourselvesamidst a struggle between our lifestyles and nature. Although we affect natureprofoundly with our activities, we in turn are regulate by natures potent forces.Nature can be brutal to humans, but we must remember that it merely is fol depressedingits course. As a result, we must ensure to coexist with it. Fire is a naturallyoccurring phenomenon which humans reach learned to deal with throughout history.Yet when fire burns uncontrollably, t here is great effectiveness for monumentaldamage to all surrounding biomass. The Malibu wildfires are an example of unitysuch instance.     Historically, wildfires had been left to burn uncontrolled for weeks.Fires were caused by different sources such as lightning or human hunters whowanted to chase animals out of the woods. As prolonged as th ese fires were,they had limited catastrophic effects on the nomadic humans. This is due to thelow population density and the fact that the fires were not very intense. Aspeople began to shift from a hunting-gathering society to agriculturists, theysettled in communities. Homes built among the wild skirmish were perfect prey towildfires. Initially, wildfires were put out immediately and people were barredfrom setting fires in open spaces. Due to the policy of fire suppression, onlyone percent of all wildfires escaped early control. The land was safe fromfires temporarily, but this set the stage for catastrophe as the brush grew moredense.     There have been more than 20 catastrophic wildfires in Los AngelesCounty since the beginning of organized fire protection. The first "big one"happened in December of 1927. The fire started in the La Crescenta Valley,climbed over the Verdugo Mountain range and destroyed more than 100 homes.     In addition to the damage caused in 1927, fires have profoundly affectedthe Southern atomic number 20 environment. Almost every square mile of chaparral landin Los Angeles county has been burned at least once, since 1919. There arebasically two astronomical fire breeding grounds in Los Angeles county the SanGabriel Mountain range and the Santa Monica Mountains. In 1993, the KinneloaFire ... ...xperience.     Human beings attempt to fight nature by trying to change or disturb itsnatural surroundings for the sole benefit of consumption. This is not only badfor the environment, but also for its inhabitants. When Malibu was home to theChumash Indians, old vegetation was sporadically burned to foster growth of newvegetation. The Chumash, who were more closely connected to nature than we arenow, learned how and when to cause fires. "A long time past the Chumash werehere and they used to burn the brush every once and a while. It did wonders forthe vegetation. the flowers were so beautiful. Then we built houses in theirway. we really should not be here (Resident of Malibu)." Perhaps we shouldlearn from their techniques rather than allowing the chaparral to dry out anddie (causing a high fire risk), we should clear out old vegetation to blockmassive fires and learn to respect the environment in which we live in, notabuse it. Nature is not mans enemy, but should be seen as an ally. Humans unavoidableness to learn about their environment in hopes that a better understanding ofnatural processes will help humans to peacefully coexist with it.