Countering Narratives of Denial

Our community finds itself engulfed in a layer of smoke so thick that it bumps up against the very top of the air quality index measurement chart. Communities have been destroyed, and dozens have died due to a wildfire season that is unfortunately not unexpected. Climate assessments have largely predicted increasingly bad wildfire seasons in our region of the world. Factors such as wetter springs contribute to an abundance of plant growth, then hotter, drier summers turn that plant growth into a tinderbox of fuel for nightmarish wildfires to burn. This is indisputable, yet on social media platforms it is but one of many narratives that attempt to explain who or what is to “blame” for the wildfires. Here are some thoughts on how you can counter these narratives that seek to hide the role of climate change in this year’s wildfire season.