The author primarily uses a cause and effect structure in the section discussing the causes of California wildfires. The text outlines various factors that contribute to the wildfires, such as climate change, drought, dieback, and management activities that have suppressed fires, while also detailing the impact of population growth and infrastructure issues on the frequency and severity of fires in California.
“The bottom line is this is a multifactor problem. It’s not just climate change, it’s not just the drought, it’s not just dieback. It’s management activities that have suppressed fires for over a century — a lot of things going on,” Keeley said. “The way I see the current situation in California, this is the perfect storm. Everything is coming together at once.” While this summer’s fires were fueled by lightning storms as well as human activity, Keeley noted that the fires caused by the yearly autumn winds are “always” started by people, whether by accident or on purpose. He said that power line failures have caused most of the large fall fires in the state over the past twenty years. Source: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Inadequate maintenance is partly to blame, according to courts. The New York Times reported that PG&E’s electrical network—which serves about 16 million people in Central and Northern California—has been linked to several destructive fires, and regulators have found that the company “violated state law or could have done more to make its equipment safer” in several cases. Power grids have also expanded to support growing communities in the state, creating more chances for disaster. Keeley emphasized that California’s population has grown by 6 million since the year 2000. “That 6 million increase in population means more people pushed out into areas of urban sprawl, of dangerous fuels, increased ignition sources, increased potential for people getting killed, an increase in the electric grid,” Keeley said. “So if there’s anything that can explain the increase in fires in the last 20 years, my feeling is it’s population growth.” In addition to issues with infrastructure like power grids, reducing human error on an individual level is crucial to preventing future disasters. That’s why one of CalFire’s goals is to educate as many Californians as possible about how wildfires work, what causes them, and the fact that they can affect communities in any part of the state—urban, rural, or anything in between. This year’s wildfires aren’t the only natural disasters or extreme weather events to hit communities hard over the past few months, bringing attention to the global need to address the growing climate crisis. But given the scale of that task, in the context of the California wildfires, Keeley argues that looking for practical, human solutions to human-caused problems can offer some hope. “It’s a positive view that we don’t just have to feel like we’re doomed to climate change,” Keeley said. “We can change our outcomes, in part due to how we deal with these situations.” Which text structure does the author primarily use in the section discussing the causes of California wildfires? (1 point) Responses compare and contrast compare and contrast problem and solution problem and solution cause and effect cause and effect claims and counterclaims claims and counterclaims Skip to navigation
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