Blog note. Jesus indicated that ‘fearful sights’ (various natural disasters) would occur leading up to the time known as the Tribulation and Great Tribulation (a combined seven year period of great destruction on earth). Although these types of things have occurred in the past for centuries and thousands of years, they could be identified as the ‘season of the times’ due to the ferociousness of these events. They would be occurring in greater intensity, severity, frequency, size, duration, scope … just like the pains that a woman experiences in labor the farther along she is in the labor process. We are in the ‘season of the times’ that comes just before the seven (7) year Tribulation/Great Tribulation period

… And great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. (Luke 21:11).

… And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; (Luke 21:25)

… Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken; (Luke 21:26)

… This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (2 Timothy 3:1)

Jesus is giving a series of prophecies about what to look for as the age of grace comes to a close. These verses are several of many such prophecies from throughout the Bible. 2017 was the worst year in recorded history for the intensity, frequency, severity, duration and occurrence of a large number of severe natural disasters worldwide. Earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, torrential flooding, unprecedented wildfires in unusual places, devastating droughts, excessive/scorching heat setting records everywhere, record snowfalls in Europe and Russia. Snow in the Arabia. This list can go on. Most studied Eschatologists believe these ‘fearful sights’ and massive natural disasters are all part of the ‘CONVERGENCE’ of signs that this Biblical and prophetic age is closing. Most people who study prophecy are familiar with the routine reference(s) made that these things will be like a woman having labor pains, growing in intensity, frequency, size, duration and scope.

Why Are There So Many Fires In California? 50 (5) percent of the Forest Service’s yearly budget goes to combating massive fires across the west

Jennifer Leman. Popular Mechanics•October 29, 2019

The Kincade Fire is raging in Northern California and has already swallowed more than 75,000 acres, destroyed 125 structures, and injured two. In Southern California, the Getty Fire has snarled traffic along one of the state’s busiest freeways and threatened hundreds of homes, many of them multi-million dollar mansions. If it seems like these fires have gotten more frequent, more intense, and lasted longer. You’re right.

Fires ignite for any number of reasons. In recent years, Pacific Gas & Electric’s poorly maintained infrastructure have sparked a number of large fires, several have been ignited by discarded cigarette butts, and a handful of blazes in recent years have spiraled out of control at homeless encampments or been set off by fireworks. While some fires do occur naturally, most are inadvertently set by humans, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Fighting these fires in California’s varied terrain is undoubtedly challenging—firefighters have deep canyons and steep hills to contend with. But it takes a perfect storm of conditions to turn a small spark into a vast conflagrations that char hundreds of thousands of acres.

So why is California burning so badly?

There is no question that climate change has played a significant role in shaping the number and intensity of these fires. In recent years, California’s climate has gotten hotter. Drier conditions mean less snowpack in the Sierras, less runoff in the spring, and less moisture for vegetation. These conditions have made it especially easy for massive wildland fires to ignite and quickly burn through parched vegetation.

As the The New York Times reports, nine of the ten largest fires in the state’s history have occurred in the past ten years, and it’s no coincidence that nine of the ten hottest years on record have happened since 2000. In 2016, the hottest year on record, the average global temperature was 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average, according to NOAA.

The Sobranes fire tore through Monterey County in 2016, burning over 132,000 acres. 2015, 2017 and 2018, the next hottest years, saw the Valley Fire (the fourth most destructive in California history), the Thomas Fire in Ventura County (281,893 acres burned) and both the Camp Fire (the single deadliest fire in California’s history) and the Mendocino Complex Fire (the state’s largest ever), respectively.

In our increasingly warming world, ecosystems will continue to dry out, and subsequently, fires will only get more fierce, more frequent, and burn more of the state. The amount of land burned across California in the summer is roughly eight times higher than in the 1970s, according to National Geographic. And the state’s fire season has gotten considerably longer, too, extending up to 75 days, in some cases. In reality, “fire season” is a remnant of cooler world.

The most challenging aspect, scientists say, is that we’re really unable to predict all of the environmental variables that climate change will alter.

That brings us to winds.

Strong gusts have swept across the state cueing the National Weather Service to issue a high wind advisory this weekend, which warned of gusts that reached speeds of up to 80 mph. These incredibly high winds are, in large part, the reason why California’s fires swell to such massive sizes.

High winds are especially tricky because they can prevent air support, in the form of retardant-dumping planes and water-dropping helicopters, from flying. Gusts can pick up embers and carry them to other locations, sparking new blazes for firefighters to contend with.

Last year, a study published in the journal Environmental Letters suggested that there are two separate fire seasons in Southern California. One, from June to September, is driven by warm, dry winds, sparking inland fires.

Another, which lasts from October through April and is driven by the famed Santa Ana winds, which blow west from the Great Basin and Mojave desert, sweeping over the Transverse Mountain Range and down into the valley. These are the winds to worry about. The New York Times reported at the time that fires that ignite in the fall and winter months grow at a rate three times faster than others and more closely encroach on heavily populated areas.

While southern California is known for the Santa Ana Winds, Northern California has its own fierce wind conditions to contend with. The region is bombarded by similar gusts called the Diablo winds, which swing in from east, down the Sierras and funnel toward the coast. Like the Santa Anas, the Diablo winds can regularly bring gusts of up to 80 mph.

Reason #3: Smokey Bear

It turns out that Smokey Bear’s famous mantra “Only YOU can prevent forest fires” did more harm than good in the grand scheme of things. For more than a century, fire management officials have suppressed fires in the West leading to an overgrowth of vegetation, or fuel, in ecosystems, according to the Park Service. Now, we’re essentially playing catch up.

Many of California’s ecosystems are well-adapted to fire. Some native plant and tree species even require it to sprout new growth. But these delicate systems often operate on specific cycles. For example, a chaparral stand may have a burn cycle of anywhere from 30 to 100 years, where a ponderosa pine stand may need only a few years between each fire. If intense fires occur too frequently, native plant species can become replaced by, say, invasive grasses, which burn quickly and don’t hold soil well.

Now, forest and fire management officials are working overtime to make up for losses, combatting overgrowth through mechanical trimming of brush and the prescribed burning of tens of thousands of acres, according to Outside Magazine. But about 50 percent of the Forest Service’s yearly budget goes to combating massive fires across the west, according to the agency. This leaves few resources, little time and less money to conduct the type of forest management needed that could help mitigate destructive fires in the first place.

To make matters worse, people have been moving farther and farther into the Wildland Urban Interface, or WUI, which puts them at risk of experiencing, or even starting a fire. This also makes it difficult for fire management officials to set controlled burns, which mitigate the build-up of vegetation or fuel, in the WUI because there’s a high likelihood that homes would be lost if the burn spirals out of control.

Several factors have contributed to the alarmingly intense fires we’ve seen in the past few years. But there’s one thing we know for sure: If you happen to be in an evacuation zone, take the Terminator’s advice and get to the choppa: