Forest fires are a common natural phenomena. However, in the past few years, they have become more frequent and more extreme.

The California forest fire season in 2019 caused hundreds of thousands to evacuate their homes, leaving everything behind.

Also, the most recent major forest fire – the Australia forest fire, which started in June of 2019, that only recently was brought under control – has shattered the lives of a massive number of families, both animal and human alike.

How forest fires start

Forest fires can be caused by either Mother Nature or human beings. The main cause of natural forest fires is lightning. In 2019, approximately one third of fires were due to lightning strikes. However, natural causes are not the problem. The issue is with human-caused fires.

In recent years, the main cause of forest fires has been human carelessness. Human causes include lit cigarette butts, improperly burning debris, and also recklessness, like when in 2019 a man trying to plug wasp’s nest accidentally started California’s biggest wildfire in modern history. According to the OMPE (World Organization for the Protection of Environment), 45 percent of wildfires are caused by humans doing stupid things like throwing cigarette butts, burning garbage, and leaving campfires unattended. People don’t realize that small, easy to forget actions can start a fire that destroys hundreds, or even thousands of acres of precious land.

Plants are dying

The first casualties of forest fires are trees and plants. Forest fires ravage natural plant growth like forests and jungles. This is a major cause of deforestation. Not only do forest fires burn hundreds or thousands of acres of wild growth, but the ground beneath is also “dead” once the fires destroy topsoil. It takes decades for the black and dead forest to grow back into a flourishing one full of plants and animals.

Animals are losing their homes and dying

Billions of innocent animals have their habitats destroyed because of forest fires. Animals are scorched by the ashes and many die. For example, the Australian bushfire blackened thousands koalas, kangaroos, and sheep and then made them crawl from burning forests onto busy and dangerous roads.

Even more destructive is that endangered animals can be driven to extinction, which are the most cruel and tragic consequences of forest fires.

Air quality is worse and worse

Air pollution may be the most dangerous consequence of forest fires. As trees burn, a massive amount of carbon dioxide is dumped into the sky. The amount of carbon dioxide emissions caused by one major forest fire, such as the California wildfire, is equal to a whole year’s worth of industrial air pollution in the United States.

The recent Australian bushfires have also had devastating effects on the environment and public health. Air pollution produced during the crisis, in the form of emissions and smoke, will ultimately kill 12 times more people than the fire itself according to research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Even though the high levels of ambient air pollution returned to normal soon after the fire ended, some of the invisible costs will persist for decades.

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The results of forest fires are drastic: thousands left homeless, hundreds of dead, animals fleeing for their lives, and massive destruction of needed trees and plants.

Forest fires, caused by people, are destroying the Earth by making climate change even worse than ever.

The damage caused by forest fires is devastating and heartbreaking, as audiences and netizens watch animals and plants being burned to death on the news and internet.

It is time we take action to heal the world, spread awareness, be conscientious when dealing with fire, and most importantly, face the biggest environmental problem – climate change, seriously. If we do, the world may grow back into a peaceful and lively place.