As you’ve no doubt heard, or smelled, wildfires are raging across the state. What you might not know is why. Ask yourselves when was the last time it rained more than just a drizzle? It’s been a while, right? That’s because New Jersey is currently in a drought. This means that little or no rain is falling. A side effect of this lack of rain is that trees are dying or just drying out.
According to NJ.com, “Although the final stats for all of New Jersey aren‘t in yet, the preliminary numbers show last month was the driest October on record statewide and the driest of any month during any year since 1895.”
Accuweather.com states, “The drought has also led to a 1,300 percent increase in wildfires in the state, with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service responding to 537 fires since October.” Yes, it’s that serious – especially because of how these dry conditions can lead to something damaging, and even deadly.
When you have a lot of very dry wood, and throw in a few sparks, you get the current wildfires. Without rain to help put the fires out, firefighters are struggling to stop the fires from spreading. As they try to put out the fires, they are using more and more water from our reservoirs. However, that water isn’t being replenished because it isn’t raining.
Now add in all the tap water we use for everything from showering to even just having a drink from the water fountain. With all of this water usage, and no water going back into the source, we may eventually run out of water.
Ellie Rothstein stated, “It’s a bit scary.” It is. Thousands of acres have been burned, the fires are still moving, and there’s no rain in sight.
Erica Martinucci, Language Arts and Journalism teacher here at EHS, said, “I know it’s serious because I heard about a volunteer firefighter who died”. She’s referring to Wildland Fire Crew member Dariel Vasquez who died while responding to the Jennings Creek Fire just last Saturday.
Firefighters from multiple townships are coming together to help contain the blazes to the best of their abilities. Some people have even had to evacuate their homes, as a precaution.
But don’t worry, you can do your part as well. There are steps you can take to prevent a possible drought. For starters, try not to leave the water running when you’re brushing your teeth. Also, take showers instead of baths. Don’t run the dishwasher or washing machine until it’s full. Lastly, don’t start fires near trees or other flammable materials – especially now that we’re experiencing such dry and windy conditions.
If we all pitch in then we’ll get through this together.
(whyy.org)
