THIS ISN’T NORMAL. THIS IS OUR NEW NORMAL.
FIVE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE WILDFIRES IN THE STATE’S HISTORY BURNED BETWEEN OCTOBER AND DECEMBER 2017.
In October,
conditions came together to create the perfect storm for the fires that devastated Northern California. After years of historic drought, a record number of dead trees and increased dry vegetative fuel fed extreme fires propelled by extraordinary wind gusts. Fire officials described witnessing the fire spread with a “speed and ferocity” they had never seen in their lifetimes.
In 2017 alone,
Cal Fire confronted 7,117 wildfires, compared to an average of just 4,835 during the preceding five years. Furthermore, five of the 20 most destructive wildfires in the state’s history burned between October and December. This extreme weather in our state suggests that the changing climate is producing a new normal.
Last year’s wildfires
are just one example of an extraordinary climate event becoming ordinary. California is battling serious environmental problems on every front: extreme heat, wind, tree mortality, drought, record flooding and mudslides are occurring at an increasing rate and predicted to only get worse.
In fact,
2017 was the hottest year on record in California. And in February 2017, a site in Lake Tahoe recorded the highest wind speed ever in California with gusts that reached 199 mph.
All of this has occurred
alongside a crippling five-year drought which, coupled with a bark beetle infestation, killed 129 million trees in California.
In the last five years,
PG&E has invested $15 billion to enhance and strengthen our electric transmission and distribution systems. To be successful in this new normal, we must continue to work together with first responders, legislators and community leaders to develop practical solutions that improve emergency response, increase funding for first responders and invest in an emergency early warning system. Most of all, we must continue working together to invest in our grid so it is ready for a changing climate.