Devastation struck Gatlinburg, Tennessee recently and, sadly, humans are the cause. Unfortunately, humans are a main cause for forest fires around the globe, contributing to about 90% of all wildfires. While it is possible for forest fires to start naturally, a large majority of them are caused solely by human negligence, which was the case for the recent Tennessee fires. Humans need to take responsibility for their actions and become more aware of not only how easily a fire can be started, but also how many lives their poor decision can harm.
Humans are reckless creatures when it comes to the environment, constantly polluting our planet in every way, shape, and form. Because of our disregard for the well-being of our planet, we often unconsciously harm it and may not even know we are causing damage. Many disastrous wildfires are caused by this careless human behavior. For instance, an estimated 360 billion cigarettes were smoked by citizens of the United States alone in 2007. This means that a total of about 135,000,000 pounds of cigarette butts polluted the ground in just one year. It takes just one small gust of wind for one of those billions of cigarettes to spark a fire and destroy a community. Another way humans have started wildfires is by leaving campfires unattended. Recreational camping is very popular in many corners of the world; however, many of the people that go camping are not properly educated on how to care for the space in which they are staying. People leave their campfires burning, anticipating that it will eventually slowly burn out. While this is sometimes the case, there is also a good chance that the fire will grow and wreak havoc. Similarly, controlled fires can also get out of hand accidentally and cause unintended damage. Although most wildfires are unintended and simply caused by human negligence, some are caused intentionally. In fact, it is estimated that about 282,600 intentional fires were reported to fire departments in the United States each year from 2007 to 2011.
Clearly humans have do not realize just how many lives they are endangering when they participate in such activities, or they wouldn't be so careless. As of now, the current death toll from the Tennessee fire is at 11 people. That is 11 unnecessary deaths caused by ignorance and inattention. In addition to that, businesses and homes are being burned down. On the other hand, wildfires also cause significant damage to the species of plants and animals that inhabit the affected area. Forests are one of the most biodiverse communities on the earth; they are home to thousands of different plants and animals. However, due to the stupidity and recklessness of the human population, those forests are being quickly depleted and thousands of species are on the verge of becoming endangered or even extinct. Wildfires can spread very quickly, wiping out great areas of forest, as well as the creatures living in them. It takes only a matter of minutes for a wildfire to devastate miles of land; however, it takes up to hundreds of years for that forest to grow back completely.
Wildfires are extremely detrimental to both human society and nature, yet humans still neglect to take preventative measures to stop them. We have all seen the immense amounts of damage that they can cause, so why do we continue to be careless?
http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cigbutthowmany.htm
https://www.nps.gov/fire/wildland-fire/learning-center/fire-in-depth/wildfire-causes.cfm
