San Diego

Axios San Diego

The vast majority of the more than 250,000 wildfires that blazed through California over the past three decades were caused by people.

Why it matters: With climate change increasing wildfire risk in the West, fires can quickly spread, destroy property and become deadly.

Changing human behavior could help reduce the devastating threat.

By the numbers: About 86% of wildfires in California between 1992 and 2020 were spurred by human activity, burning 63 acres on average, U.S. Forest Service analysis of wildfire data found.

Meanwhile, Cal Fire officials say 95% of fires are human-caused currently.

Of note: Lightning strikes accounted for the other fires with known causes, mostly in the northeastern and mountainous parts of the state that border Nevada.

Lightning strikes were behind California's largest fires, which took place in August 2020, burning more than 2 million acres combined — that's about three-quarters of the size of San Diego County.

Details: The top three human activities known to have led to these blazes were from equipment and vehicles, arson and debris burning, the data shows.

That includes accidental incidents and neglect, such as leaving a campfire unattended or a malfunctioning catalytic converter spitting a molten substance out of an exhaust pipe.

Between the lines: While firearms and explosives caused 0.2% of wildfires, they led to the largest human-caused blazes, at 380 acres on average.

Data: Short, 2022, Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States; Note: Only includes fires with known origins. White areas had no reported fires; Map: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

The big picture: This summer's extreme weather and simultaneous climate disasters are the new reality across North America with unprecedented wildfires, heat waves and storms.

Zoom in: Five wildfires in San Diego County have burned nearly 800 acres so far this year, with three this month.

The Coyote Fire that burned over 460 acres last week and forced evacuations around Potrero was contained with help from Tropical Storm Hilary.

What they're saying: The San Diego area is particularly fire-prone and susceptible to destructive blazes, partly because there's a lot of rural land in East County, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette told Axios.

With houses and brush intermixed, it's "more difficult to get in there and defend those homes."

"And then we get the seasonal Santa Ana winds that can spread those fires very quickly and sometimes outpace firefighters," he said.

Be smart: To help prevent fires, do yard work and agricultural burns with the right tools and avoid hot, dry, windy weather.

Keep at least a 50-foot buffer around your home as a "defensible space" to create a barrier to slow or stop a fire from engulfing your property.

Get an evacuation plan in place and have a "go-kit" ready at a moment's notice.

People caused most of California's wildfires over the past 30 years

More than 250,000 wildfires have raged across California over the past 30 years.

A firefighter stands with a hose over his shoulder putting out flames of a wildfire along a road that's engulfing the brush.

A firefighter battles the Valley Fire in Jamul, California in September 2020. Photo: Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

The vast majority of the more than 250,000 wildfires that blazed through California over the past three decades were caused by people.Why it matters: With climate change <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="increasing wildfire risk" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2021/11/02/climate-change-wildfires-main-cause-us-west" data-vars-content-id="3d801e51-d382-4c99-a4c9-41dc5e42ce8f" data-vars-headline="People caused most of California&#x27;s wildfires over the past 30 years" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2021/11/02/climate-change-wildfires-main-cause-us-west" target="_self">increasing wildfire risk</a> in the West, fires can quickly spread, destroy property and become deadly.

Climate

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National

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Data: NOAA; Note: Summers are ranked by their average June-August temperature. Years in the top 33% are considered above average; Map: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Large swaths of the Sun Belt were hit by their hottest meteorological summer — June through August — on record.

Why it matters: The odds and severity of extreme heat events are rapidly increasing as the climate warms in response to human emissions of greenhouse gases.

It was the warmest June, July and August on record globally.

Zoom in: The Gulf Coast and New Mexico were particularly hard hit by heat this year. 

Corpus Christi, Texas, tied or beat 28 daily temperature records. New Orleans and San Antonio each had 26.

By the numbers: This summer was the warmest on record for nearly 5% of the contiguous U.S.

Mapped: The Sun Belt's summer for the record books

The Gulf Coast and New Mexico were particularly hard hit by heat this year.

extreme weather

Energy & Environment

Twin Cities

Data: NOAA. Note: Summers are ranked by their average June-August temperature. Years in the top 33% are considered above average; Map: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

This past summer was the Twin Cities' fifth warmest on record, with average temperatures of 74.7° F.

Two daily record highs were broken or tied.

Backstory: While measurements began in 1873, you don't have to go that far back to find our hottest summer on record. 

It was just two years ago in 2021 when the average temperature hit 75.6°.

The big picture: The odds and severity of extreme heat events are rapidly increasing as the climate warms in response to human emissions of greenhouse gases.

Zoom out: This past summer featured the warmest June, July, and August on record globally.

It was also the warmest on record for nearly 5% of the contiguous U.S. 

Summer 2023 was one of the Twin Cities' warmest on record

This past summer was the Twin Cities&#x27; fifth warmest on record, with average temperatures of 74.7° F.<ul><li>Two daily record highs were broken or tied.</li></ul>Backstory: While measurements began in 1873, you don&#x27;t have to go that far back to find our hottest summer on record.

Axios Twin Cities, anchored by Torey Van Oot, Nick Halter and Audrey Kennedy, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard

Axios Twin Cities

Portland

Axios Portland

Data: eBird; Note: Traveling count is the number of swifts an experienced observer could expect to see while traveling one kilometer over one hour; Maps: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Portland is just one stop on the journey south for the Vaux's swift — the city's beloved narrow-winged, bat-like migratory bird that calls the chimney of Chapman Elementary home throughout September. 

We wanted to know: Where do they go from here?

The intrigue: After roosting in Portland chimneys for two to three weeks, the swifts make their way down the West Coast, arriving in Mexico by November.

Large populations of swifts can be found in Mexico City and Cancun in the winter months until they head back north in the spring. 

So next time you're on vacation down south escaping the near-constant gray of the Pacific Northwest, keep an eye out for a fellow snowbird.

Where Vaux's swifts go after visiting Portland

Portland is just one stop on the long journey south for the Vaux's swift.

Birds

Four maps showing Vaux’s swift population density in August, September, October, and November. In August and September, many swifts are in the Pacific Northwest. By October and November, these swifts have largely migrated to southern Mexico.

Portland is just one stop on the journey south for the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Vaux&#x27;s swift" data-vars-click-url="https://audubonportland.org/our-work/rehabilitate-wildlife/having-a-wildlife-problem/vauxs-swifts/" data-vars-content-id="aff318c2-1b50-4191-af71-195bad6c788e" data-vars-headline="Where Vaux&#x27;s swifts go after visiting Portland" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://audubonportland.org/our-work/rehabilitate-wildlife/having-a-wildlife-problem/vauxs-swifts/" target="_blank">Vaux&#x27;s swift</a> — the city&#x27;s beloved narrow-winged, bat-like migratory bird that calls the chimney of Chapman Elementary home throughout September. We wanted to know: Where do they go from here?

Culture

Atlanta

Axios Atlanta

Data: U.S. Census American Community Survey; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

The share of Georgians who speak a language other than English at home is five times higher now than in 1980.

Yes, but: Over the past five years, the percentages of people who mainly speak Spanish, Hindi, Chinese and French appear to have leveled off, with only Vietnamese showing an increase, according to U.S. American Community Survey data.

State of play: Metro Atlanta's Asian population grew 55% between 2010 and 2020, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission, the fastest of any racial or ethnic group.

Of note: Metro Atlanta has the fourth-highest number of Black immigrant residents (190,000), trailing Washington, D.C. (260,000), Miami (490,000), and New York (1.1 million), according to a 2022 Pew report.

From 2010 to 2019, the number of Black immigrants living in metro Atlanta grew 165%, many originally from the Caribbean and Africa.

Georgia's diversity makes for a polyglot paradise

However, the percentages of people who speak Spanish, Hindi and French appear to have leveled off

Language

The share of Georgians who speak a language other than English at home is five times higher now than in 1980.Yes, but: Over the past five years, the percentages of people who mainly speak Spanish, Hindi, Chinese and French appear to have leveled off, with only Vietnamese showing an increase, according to U.S. American Community Survey data.

Erin Davis

Stories

Summer 2023 was one of the Twin Cities' warmest on record

Mapped: The Sun Belt's summer for the record books

Where Vaux's swifts go after visiting Portland

Georgia's diversity makes for a polyglot paradise

People caused most of California's wildfires over the past 30 years