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KENT -- Unlike the Canadian wildfires that sent smoke across the eastern and midwestern United States in 2023, the LA wildfires will not affect northeast Ohio, but that doesn't mean they are not worth understanding, says a Kent State University researcher.
Cameron C. Lee, an associate professor of geography at the Kent campus, is a federally funded researcher in applied climatology. He studies how weather and climate affect life on Earth -- everything from human health to the growth of trees -- and how climate change impacts extreme temperature events in North America and across the globe.
While a polar vortex has driven frigid temperatures down through much of the eastern United States this month, different winds have driven the wildfires that decimated much of Los Angeles and southern California, Lee said.
"The Santa Ana winds are really not common for this part of the year, but when they do blow, they can be warm and dry and pretty strong. Those are the opposite of the way the wind usually blows there," he said. "Now, they're also getting an east to west wind coming off the Rocky Mountains, and as that comes down, it compresses and warms and dries, and it's a fast wind too. Put that together with the dry conditions and that leads to a rapid fire."
The northern winds carried smoke and smog down from Canada in 2023, compromising air quality in much of the eastern and midwestern U.S., but distance and wind directions mean the LA fires will not cause any trouble on this side of the country.
"The wildfire is probably not going to be a thing here," Lee said. "A lot of the poor air quality will be limited to southern California and off the coast. So, places like Catalina Island and the winds coming from east to west will push it over the Pacific Ocean."
Similarly, Lee said the polar vortex is unlikely to affect the wildfires.
"The Rockies provide a pretty good barrier for southern California in terms of what's coming down from Canada," he said.
While much of the Eastern U.S. is experiencing one extreme weather event, in the form of sub-zero temperatures and bitter wind chills, Lee said the opposite sort will drive conditions out west and make wildfires even more common and more severe in the years to come.
"It's a dry area, and it's expected to get drier, and with that type of outlook, I'd expect more of the conditions that keep the ecosystem drier and allow for wildfires to start and spread," Lee said. "We'd expect to see more frequent and intense droughts and that dry vegetation will fuel a lot of those wildfires."
Lee said the Santa Ana winds are projected to diminish in late spring and again in early fall, but there will still be plenty of fuel for wildfires.
"A disaster really is brought forth by naturally occurring events that interact with humans. If no humans were there, this would be another natural event," he said. "It's going to put a lot of people in danger, whereas the ecosystems will be able to bounce back quite a bit easier."
Wildfires are not the only challenge the southwest will face, though.
"For southern California and the desert southwest, it's always been surprising that they're able to sustain the population and that it continues to grow, because the amount of water they have there is extremely low for the population."
Lee said ensuring adequate access to water for the growing populations in those states has meant taking water from the Colorado River or rainy areas of the Pacific Northwest and northern California.
But a lack of water -- what most scientists expect to see in the coming years -- doesn't just mean fewer resources for drinking, bathing and fighting fires, Lee said. A reduced ability to provide irrigation for crops is likely to create food supply shortages nationwide.
"California is a major producer of crops, especially in the nongrowing season for the rest of the country," he said.