2 massive wildfires burn thousands of acres, force evacuations in Florida Panhandle
USA TodayOct 19, 2021
The Facts
Two massive wildfires have burned thousands of acres and forced the evacuation of over 1,100 residents in the FL panhandle.
The "Bertha Swamp Road Fire" and "Adkins Avenue Fire" are burning in a region that was decimated by Hurricane Michael in 2018. The storm left 72M tons of tree damage, which has provided fuel for the fires.
The Spin
Narrative A
Florida isn't acting fast enough to address its climate emergency. The Sunshine State is repeatedly mentioned in IPCC reports because of its vulnerability. The window is closing, and Florida is on the front lines of a hotter planet.
Narrative B
Florida's leadership is doing the best it can, in a rare show of bipartisan cooperation. There's a tremendous amount of flammable timber left on the ground from Hurricane Michael. State staffing shortages and contracting logistics inhibited the clean-up, and residents must be patient as the fires rampage.
Narrative C
It's easy to dismiss any extreme weather event as a consequence of climate change, but in reality they're usually influenced by a myriad of factors that have nothing to do with it. More research is needed before we can establish any direct causal link between the two.
