Wildfires have ravaged the Western United States for the past month, affecting not only the natural landscape, but residents' quality of life. Wildfire activity in California began escalating Aug. 15 and has since destroyed more than 6,500 structures.
More than 8,000 wildfires have burned more than 3.6 million acres in California in 2020, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Though some fires have been largely contained, many others still ravage the state and other parts of the West Coast.
The IU student body has many Californians, and some have felt the negative effects of the wildfires. Rachel Soetarman is a sophomore taking online classes in Silicon Valley, California. She said she stayed home during the pandemic because of her asthma, but the wildfires in her home state have caused a greater reason for concern.
“It’s really hard to see this happen just because it’s not really something that you’d ever really expect,” she said.
Silicon Valley has not experienced as many direct fires as other areas across the state, but Soetarman said her hometown has seen smoke, dark skies, rolling blackouts, power outages and poor air quality, among other disturbances.
Soetarman said being an IU student from California can be challenging because other students may not understand the weight of what’s happening across the country. She said she doesn’t blame them, but other students should take steps to raise awareness.
“I always say the first step is reading more, being educated,” she said. “I hope that even on a small scale, sharing my experiences maybe will get people to understand more. It’s just hard when you just feel like such a small person and there’s not much you can do.”
Other West Coast students felt the carnage from the wildfires, even from across the country at IU. Sophomore Nathan Berry is from Salem, Oregon, and he said it can be hard when other students don’t grasp the scope of the wildfire damage.
“They don’t know how that’s affecting someone like me when I’m going to go back home and try to go back to the same area where I’ve spent my entire childhood and there’s going to be nothing left,” Berry said.
Berry said one thing students can do is to think about how their actions will permeate future generations and act accordingly to help the environment.
“It’s just about you caring for the people down the line,” he said. “Being nice to the environment is almost one of the most selfless decisions I think a person could make, but it’s also one of the most easy things to do.”
Cody Kirkpatrick is a senior lecturer in the department of earth and atmospheric sciences. He said the number one thing students can do to combat climate change is to vote.
“The people who control the money are the ones who will make most of the decisions,” he said. “If we want to protect earth and the environment, we have to elect people who will be good stewards of these resources.”
Kirkpatrick also said because wildfires are caused either by lightning or human behavior, it’s important to be aware of how your actions affect the world around you.
“I think that’s our responsibility, is to make sure that people are aware that actions have consequences,” he said. “We are all citizens of the world, and so we have to act responsibly.”
