This one is taking place in forests, where the latest It is estimated that humans are responsible for fire seasons have been raging with unprecedented around 75% of all wildfires,2 and much of the ferocity, from the Amazon to the Arctic: in April increase in fire incidents during 2020 can be 2020, the number of fire alerts across the globe directly linked to human actions. [...] In the case of Brazil, COVID-19 appears to have helped the regime’s stated intention to open the Amazon for business; environment minister Ricardo Salles was recorded telling colleagues to “take advantage of the fact that the attention of the press is on the pandemic to approve infra-legal reforms of deregulation of the environment.”31 Fire prevention resources themselves have also been scaled bac. [...] In the US, for example, the Forest Service Chief has stated that due to the pandemic, fire resources will be used “only when there is a reasonable expectation of success in protecting life and critical property and Fire in the urban area of Humaitá, at the South of Amazonas. [...] While a wide range of figures are quoted in the literature, the central estimate in the US is that total fire costs are 20 times the suppression costs78– and these are largely carried by populations and companies.79 In 2018, the wildfire season cost the US around $50 billion in total80 – a figure approaching the turnover of Facebook for the same year.81 The direct costs of managing fires are usual. [...] And for those of who don’t live in a wildfire hotspot, raising awareness is also crucial: the more people understand about just how big a threat wildfires pose to the future of the planet and people, the more support they’ll give to the cause.
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