Are extreme heat and wildfire smoke major disasters?

The nation’s top emergency response agency has long been a lifeline for cities and states struggling with disaster. When hurricanes strike, earthquakes strike and tornadoes carve paths of destruction, the Federal Emergency Management Agency steps in to provide critical resources and assistance.

However, for all its help, FEMA’s official definition of “major disaster” doesn’t include two hazards that continue to pose a threat to millions of Americans: extreme heat and wildfire smoke.

one of Petition for rulemaking In a petition filed Monday, the Center for Biological Diversity and more than 30 other environmental organizations, health care groups and trade unions argue that it’s time to change that. They’re requesting that the Stafford Act — FEMA’s driving force — Its rules should be amended to include extreme heat and wildfire smoke.

Doing so, they say, would release crucial disaster relief funds, allowing local governments to invest in cooling centers and air filtration systems, work toward flexible energy solutions like community solar and storage, and better prepare for emergencies.

“Both of these climate-induced disasters are now occurring repeatedly, every year, far beyond the economic and technological capacities of state and local governments to manage them, adapt to them, and mitigate further harm,” the petition states. “Federal action is imperative.”

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Currently, the Stafford Act defines major disasters as “any natural disaster (including any hurricane, tornado, tornado, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought) or, regardless of the cause, any fire, flood, or explosion in any part of the United States.”

Lawyers for the Center for Biological Diversity argue that the definition is already so broad that it includes heat and wildfire smoke, but agency officials have historically been hesitant to provide assistance in situations when property damage and other physical consequences can be hard to define.

In 2022, FEMA denied California’s request for a major disaster declaration in response to a severe heat wave that lasted 10 days in California, 395 people killed And Pushing the power grid to its limitsIn its rejection, the federal agency stated that “the purpose of the model is not to evaluate seasonal or general atmospheric conditions, but rather isolated events and impacts,” according to the petition.

A Mesa, Arizona resident is enjoying a cooler breeze in her home after her air conditioner was repaired amid the July 2023 heat wave.

(Ash Ponders/For The Times)

But the Stafford Act has been amended before, and FEMA isn’t afraid to use it in other emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, then-President Trump approved COVID-19 declared a major disaster requests for all states, tribes, and territories under the Stafford Act. President Biden later approved similar requests from the Navajo Nation and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and made $3.46 billion in hazard mitigation funding available for all territories that had been declared COVID disasters.

“The Biden and Trump administrations have together recognized that infectious diseases are major disasters under the Stafford Act, despite the fact that these events are not listed in the definition of ‘major disaster,’” the petition states.

In this way, the federal government has already accepted the interpretation that there are major disasters beyond those specified in the definition, “so they have already inherently accepted our argument,” said Jean Su, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity and lead author of the petition.

“And so the question is, why can’t FEMA actually take action for extreme heat and wildfire smoke — extreme heat is the main cause of Number 1 killer “The overall impact of weather in the United States is enormous,” he said.

In fact, extreme heat is already taking a significant toll on American citizens, and its impacts are increasing. only expect it to get worse in the coming years due to climate change and other factors global warming is even higher,

According to the National Weather Service, it’s extremely hot. More deaths occurred in the last 30 years Heat-related deaths will be the highest in 2023, exceeding the combined impact of hurricanes, floods and tornadoes. Heat poses a particular risk to children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with chronic health problems, as well as outdoor workers, low-income populations and communities of color.

Last year, a record-breaking heat wave plunged Phoenix into temperatures of 110 degrees or more. 31 consecutive daysMore than 600 people died, and the number of people suffering from heat-related illnesses and burns on the sidewalks increased. Su said the petition was started in light of this incident.

Other signers include the National Council on Occupational Safety and Health, the Service Employees International Union and the United Farmworkers Foundation.

A man wipes sweat from his face while fishing under an umbrella at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Los Angeles during a September 2022 heat wave.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, said he signed the petition because heat and smoke will continue to threaten people’s health and “in both cases there will come a time when state resources will be inadequate to deal with the problems.”

“Given that this is going to happen more and more frequently because Urban heat island “Because of climate change and the recalcitrant policy of these local jurisdictions, there are going to be times when I think we need federal resources,” he said.

Many parts of the United States have already been hit by extreme temperatures this year, including record highs in Las Vegas and Phoenix, which reached 111 degrees and 112 degrees, respectively, in early June. dome of intense heat Storms are expected to hit much of the Midwest and East Coast this week.

In addition, weather forecasters on the West Coast are already predicting a potentially active wildfire season due to vegetation dried out by the heat. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has responded to nearly 1,800 fires so far this year.

With these blazes also comes the threat of smoke — another dangerous hazard that can be deadly. In fact, a recent study found that fine particles from California wildfires were responsible for several deaths between 2008 and 2018. There were 55,700 famine deaths in the state.

Smoke from wildfires in California and Canada, among other places, has spread far beyond the fire boundaries, spreading harmful particles far and wide. east coast of america. And EuropeAnd with fires expected to become more intense in the coming years, the threat of smoke is also increasing.

“Like extreme heat, smoke from wildfires is a natural disaster that is becoming more frequent and severe due to anthropogenic climate change,” the petition states.

The costs of these threats are also rising, with current and projected losses to health care, agriculture, infrastructure repair, workplace productivity and other consequences running into hundreds of billions of dollars, according to the petition.

“When you combine the climate crisis with the intensity and frequency of natural disasters … it just goes on non-stop,” said Christine Bolanos, communications director for the Workers Defense Project, a Texas-based advocacy organization that experienced it all. The largest wildfire on record broke out earlier this year“And so we need some type of federal regulation to help provide resources and support to these vulnerable communities.”

Bolanos said signing the petition was a “no-brainer,” especially considering that heat, smoke and other hazards disproportionately impact migrant workers and other at-risk populations.

“We truly believe that when there’s more support — and attention to potential solutions at the federal level — then there’s a ray of hope at the state and local level, because we can only solve some of these issues if we all work together rather than separately,” he said.

FEMA currently receives most of its resources from the Disaster Relief Fund, which is distributed each year by Congress and can be carried over from year to year. Since 2020, the annual allocation for this fund has ranged between $20 billion and $70 billion. FEMA spending also fluctuates, with expenditures reaching $69 billion in 2021 due to the pandemic, and just $19 billion in 2022. Last year, FEMA spending was $41 billion.

“This is all a matter for Congress to address, and because extreme heat is truly a bipartisan issue, I hope that Congress will take appropriate steps accordingly to help their states obtain funding for issues related to extreme heat and wildfire smoke,” Su said.

The petition states that amending the Stafford Act to include extreme heat and wildfire smoke would open up new avenues for short-term and long-term funding. For example, short-term funding could provide temporary cooling centers, water stations, and clean-air centers that could be placed in urban centers or areas where workers are disproportionately affected by extreme heat or smoke.

But FEMA funding can also assist with long-term mitigation projects that help not only respond to disasters, but also prepare for them. These include permanent community resilience centers, air conditioning and filtration upgrades in public schools, or better energy systems through rooftop solar and micro-grids, which would also help people afford the electricity needed for cooling and filtration, Su said.

“This is a much more innovative and proactive way of doing emergency management that they, as an organization, are not accustomed to,” he said. “However, just because you’re not accustomed to it doesn’t mean you don’t have the authority to do it and you shouldn’t do it.”

Su said the broad statutory language in the Stafford Act already allows for such responses, as evidenced by actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. Officially amending the act’s language would require FEMA to open a rulemaking process, which could be strengthened by experts who help outline and define clear limits and qualifications for high temperatures and wildfire smoke particulate matter.

He said the petition is expected to receive widespread support from state and local leaders.

Some are already pressuring FEMA to make changes through bipartisan meetings Extreme Heat Emergency ActWhich similarly urges the agency to add extreme heat to its list of major disaster-qualifying events. The act, introduced last year by Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, has been supported by officials in several states, including Nevada, Texas and. California,

However, Humble said many of these issues don’t exist in a vacuum, but that cities and states also bear some responsibility for preparing for and responding to crises. In Phoenix, as in California, housing shortages, homelessness and other challenges are also leading to more people being exposed to extreme heat and smoke, he said.

“It’s really a state and local level job to prevent these heat-related deaths, but if we’re going to have FEMA — and if FEMA is going to do disaster response — it needs to include extreme heat emergencies,” he said.