There is such warming power and appeal about fire when it is under control, and such a terror to it when it breaks free and threatens to consume everything in its path.

This year has been a horrible year for fire around the world. The fire I remember most vividly was the one that destroyed Lahania on the Hawaiian island of Maui in early August. It was such a tragedy, and the worst wildfire in the United States for over a century.

In the same month there were wildfires in Greece, and other parts of Europe, and the fires in Canada continued to spread. In Canada they began in June, earlier than usual, and to date they’ve been the worst fires on record for Canada, with more than 100 000 square kilometres burned. The average is apparently around 27 000. I have read that the Canadian fire service believes that over 70% of this year’s fires were caused by lightning.

So I wonder what we’re going to do with this growing threat from ‘man’s red fire’?

Clean up earth’s atmosphere as fast as we can has to be one thing, and then, alongside that, there seems to be some hope that NASA’s Fire Events Data Suite (FEDS) might help provide accurate information about the fires as they spread, allowing those who fight them to target their responses with more effect, and to better understand the causes of the fires in the first place.

I just hope that our environmental efforts, together with FEDS, and the work of so many courageous firefighters, will make a real difference to the places facing fire around the world.

Here’s a link to more information about FEDS.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023