Malibu Fires Essay examples -- essays research papers

Malibu Fires      kind beings are able to adapt to almost any(prenominal) surround, unfortunatelysome clock times 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 overrule are shaped by natures potent forces.Nature can be brutal to humanss, simply we must remember that it merely is followingits course. As a result, we must learn to coexist with it. Fire is a by natureoccurring phenomenon which humans consume learned to deal with through discover history.Yet when hassle open fires uncontrollably, there is great potential for monumentaldamage to completely surrounding biomass. The Malibu wildfires are an example of onesuch 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 these fires were,they had hold catastrophic effects on the nomadic humans. This is due to thelow creation density and the fact that the fires were not very intense. Aspeople began to depart from a hunting-gathering society to agriculturists, theysettled in communities. Homes built among the wild scrub were perfect prey towildfires. Initially, wildfires were put out immediately and people were proscribefrom setting fires in open spaces. Due to the policy of fire suppression, besidesone percent of all wildfires escaped early control. The land was right fromfires temporarily, but this set the stage for catastrophe as the brush grew to a greater extentdense.     There have been more than 20 catastrophic wildfires in Los AngelesCounty since the stemma of organized fire protection. The first "big one"happened in celestial latitude of 1927. The fire started in the La Crescenta Valley,climbed over the Verdugo Mountain range a nd sunk more than 100 homes.     In addition to the damage caused in 1927, fires have profoundly affectedthe Southern California surround. Almost every whole mile of chaparral landin Los Angeles county has been burned at least(prenominal) once, since 1919. There arebasically two large fire conduct 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 and 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 committed to nature than we arenow, learned how and when to cause fires. "A long time ago 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 run dry out anddie (causing a high fire risk), we should clear out old vegetation to preventmassive 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. Humansneed to learn about their environment in hopes that a better understanding ofnatural processes will help oneself humans to peacefully coexist with it.