The foothills east of Fresno are burning. Lightning-caused wildfires have torched thousands of acres, forced mandatory evacuations, threatened livelihoods and pumped harmful smoke into the air.
How do we city-dwellers react?
By intentionally setting off fireworks on and around the Fourth of July that spark dozens of neighborhood fires and create even more toxic air pollution spikes while frightening pets and people with PTSD.
Please make it make sense.
Besides the criminal element, Fresno, Clovis and other central San Joaquin Valley cities consist of law-abiding citizens. But every July, a faction (often under the guise of misplaced patriotism) transforms into pyromaniacs with no regard for their own safety or the safety of others.
During a typical 24-hour period, the Fresno Fire Department responds to 20 to 25 fire calls. Last year, between 8 a.m. on July 4 and 8 a.m. on July 5, firefighters responded to 120 — a number that has remained fairly constant annually since 2020.
“The last few years,” Fresno Fire Chief Billy Alcorn told me, “have been incredibly busy: Nonstop fires from sundown to past midnight.”