The fire season has been dominating the news.

火災消息一直佔據著新聞版面

“This has turned into another record-setting fire season.”

「這裡已經變成另一個創紀錄的火勢。」

“Now the largest in state history.”

「現在是州歷史上最大的火勢。」

“Really there's no end in sight."

「真的沒有結束的跡象。」

It's hot.

很炎熱

It's dry.

很乾燥

It's windy.

風很大

Just about everything on the ground is flammable.

地面上所有的東西都是易燃的

But there's one thing that's consistently making wildfires in California worse and

但有一個原因使得加州的野火不斷惡化

worse and worse:

而且越來越嚴重：

Us.

我們人類

At this point, even calling them “wild” fires might be a misnomer, because most of them

根據這點來說，稱為「野」火可能用詞不當，因為大多數的野火都不是自然發生的

are not natural. Humans are responsible for starting a whopping 84% of them.

高達 84% 的野火都由人類負責

The northern California Carr fire for example, was started by sparks from a car tire' rim.

例如，加州北部的卡爾大火是由汽車輪胎輪輞上的火花引起的

And in southern California, the Holy Fire just outside of LA started after a suspected arson.

在加州南部，洛杉磯外面的霍利大火是在一場縱火案之後開始的

These are just two of the fires currently active in the state.

這還只是目前在該州活躍的兩起火災

So far in 2018 629,000 acres have burned.

到目前為止，在 2018 年間，有 629000 英畝土地被燒毀

That's nearly 3 times as much compared to the same time period in 2017.

這相當於 2017 年同期的 3 倍

What makes these fires so dangerous, damaging, and therefore costly is that more human-made

導致這些火災如此危險、具破壞性，而且代價高昂的原因是

infrastructure is getting caught in the flames.

更多的人造基礎設施陷入火海

This map highlights the parts of California most prone to fires, and it's no surprise

這張地圖標示出加州最容易發生火災的地區，毫無意外

that — yeah — that's where these fires are.

這就是火災發生的所在地

But compare it to

但與這張

this map, which shows population density growth projections.

人口密度增長預測的地圖進行比較

Put them together, and it's clear:

把兩張地圖放在一起，非常明顯：

California's population is growing out from urban centers

加州的人口正從市中心

directly into the areas

直接發展到了

at the highest risk for fire.

火災風險最高的區域

Meanwhile, the state is spending more and more to fight fires each year,

同時，國家每年花費越來越多金錢去滅火

as more and more people move into areas that put them in harm's way.

由於越來越多的人進入那些讓他們處於危險之中的地區

“It's up to all of us to protect and preserve the forests we have.”

「我們所有人都必須保護和維護我們擁有的森林。」

So, since we made this mess worse, what can we do?

所以，既然我們把這個爛攤子弄得更糟糕了，我們能做什麼？

“'That's a good job!'

「做得好！」

said Smokey the Bear.”

Smokey 大熊說道

Being mindful of how we spark these fires is a good start,

注意到我們是如何點燃這些火苗是一個好的開始

but the bigger problems contributing to this — like man-made climate change — are unlikely

但更大的問題 —— 比如人為的氣候變化

to reverse.

不太可能逆轉

And despite the risks, humans keep moving into these areas.

儘管有風險，人類還是持續搬入這些火災區

“Fires creeping real real close to some residences up here.”

「火災蔓延到附近的住宅。」

"By 2050 another 645,000 houses will be built at areas at very high risk for wildfires."

「到了 2050 年，另外會有 645000 棟房屋建在高危險性的野火地區。」

We have the opportunity to get out of the way of wildfires, and let nature run its course.

我們有機會避開野火，讓大自然順其自然

But will we?

但我們會這麼做嗎？

“Only YOU can prevent forest fires.”

「只有你可以預防森林火災。」