‘Paradise Lost’ – Wildfires Were ‘Déjà Vu All Over Again’
20 hours ago Anthony Watts
Note: This editorial was originally in the queue to be published in a prominent newspaper, but the editor somehow forgot about it after I submitted it. While it is a little late in the news cycle, the facts remain unchanged and relevant. – Anthony
The title is with apologies to John Milton and Yogi Berra, who surely would have something to say about these dual tragedies.
In November 2018, a massive wind-driven wildfire destroyed the town of Paradise, California. I experienced it firsthand, watching the plume from relative safety and later comforting friends and co-workers who lost homes, and nearly their lives. Eighty-five people did, some who I knew. It was an unparalleled tragedy – until August 2023, when the town of Lahaina in Maui burned to the ground and at least 115 people died. The weather events, fire conditions, and human folly that led up to the Maui fire were nearly identical to what happened in Paradise. It reminded me of what British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said in a 1948 speech, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
Some journalists and vocal climate activists were quick to immediately blame “climate change” in both fires before the fire investigations were even started, much less completed. A detailed analysis by meteorologist Cliff Mass, PhD., of the University of Washington shows that the Maui fire was a perfect storm of a high wind weather event, predicted days ahead, combined with a high fuel load due to dry invasive grasses. The same scenario was the setup for the 2018 Paradise Campfire.
In both fires, power lines and high winds were the ignition source and the driver. In both fires, dry high fuel loads contributed to the intensity of the fires. In both fires, there were ample warnings in weather forecasts.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/10/21/paradise-lost-wildfires-were-deja-vu-all-over-again/
