Navigating the wreckage

2018’s wildfires are already proving to be more destructive than last year’s. The Camp Fire near Chico, California has already claimed at least 29 lives, destroyed more than 6,400 structures, and burned more than 111,000 acres since it began last Thursday. It is now the deadliest and most destructive fire in California’s history. Meanwhile, the Woolsey Fire continues to ravage Los Angeles County, burning 85,500 acres. This essay, published during last year’s brutal fire season, tackles many of the same issues as this year’s season.

The mundane days all run together. But those days when I was genuinely unsure if I would make it to the end of my shift intact are the ones that stand out.

My former colleagues in the broadcast meteorology field have certainly had a busy past year. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria devastated the Texas coastline, Florida, and Puerto Rico, where thousands still suffer power outages. Wildfires spread across the West Coast. I know broadcast meterologists’ first job is to protect life and property, but on this Earth Day, I wonder how many of my former colleagues have mentioned climate change in their longform coverage of these natural disasters.

It was not so long ago that climate change was a topic broadcast meteorologists would not bring up. Some still don’t. The reasons are complicated, ranging from what meteorologists are taught in college to not wanting to upset their viewers. But they are increasingly changing. I’ve spoken to many former colleagues who want to start having these conversations on air and doing what they can to inform the public about the issue.

When I was a child, one of my teachers gave us a writing assignment called “The Box.” We were supposed to write down five things, and only five, that we would take with us from a burning house. I don’t remember what I wrote down, but I do recall it was hard. Pets and family were exempt, and I just couldn’t think of five material objects that warranted a place on such a precious list. What could be important enough?

Late on the night of Monday, December 4, as fires raged near us in Southern California, I found myself asking the same question.