The Witch Fires & the War in Iraq: Making the Connection

San Francisco is not as distant from San Diego as one might think, and the Witch Fires, which have roused international attention, has struck a particular chord with San Diegans who now call the Bay Area home.

For decades, San Diegan artists and leftists, disillusioned by their conservative home town and its politics, have made a community for themselves in San Francisco. This community is much larger than one might assume. Ask any number of people who have recently moved to San Francisco about where they went to high school and you will find a surprising number of folks who will respond with names like "Rancho Buena Vista," "Eastlake," "San Diego High School," "Fallbrook High," "Valhalla," and others from San Diego County.

It may very well be for this very reason that San Franciscans have been so concerned about the recent fires in San Diego County--because many of us, the author of this article included, have friends and loved ones who have been evacuated due to the fires and some who have even seen their parents' homes burn to the ground.

This past Saturday, October 27, that sense of NorCal-SoCal connectedness was visible at the anti-war march that took place in downtown San Francisco. Among the many banners that could be seen at the march, there was certainly a presence of Bay Area residents who once called San Diego home speaking to the issue of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the impact that these have had upon the efforts to combat the fires.

Though the total impact that the wars and the U.S.'s overstretched military has had on the fire response effort will take months to investigate and bring to light, it is an issue that has already been raised in news media publications. According to a report in the May 11 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle, “the California National Guard says equipment shortages could hinder the guard’s response to a large-scale disaster. A dearth of equipment such as trucks and radios—caused in part by the war in Iraq—has state military officials worried they would be slow in providing help in the event of a major fire, earthquake or terrorist attack.”

Indeed, the strain on domestic resources resulting from the War in Iraq has very much been felt in the hindered capacities of the California National Guard in responding to the fires in Southern California. But this resource strain is not unique to California and has already been seen in other disaster-prone states like Kansas.

Some have also pointed to the power of private developers over Southern California city councils as another social cause for the current disaster. These developers have played a large role in preventing the kind of public infrastructure that could more effectively prevent and respond to disasters like the 2007 fires by staunchly opposing taxes at every turn. These developers have used their money and political influence to block increases in taxes that fund public services like fire stations and firefighters' salaries. And yet, as many made note at the anti-war march on October 27, the Bush Administration has just asked for an increase in war spending of more than $189 billion dollars. So while taxes that could be used to prevent or seriously mitigate disasters like the Witch Fires are being blocked by rich developers, the federal government continues to push through record spending increases on the War in Iraq which has the net effect of decreasing the capacity of states like California to effectively respond to disasters when they break out.

As mega-disasters continue to increase in their incidence and severity thanks to global warming trends, the Witch Fires may prove to be not all that unique in the disaster history of the United States or even California for that matter. With there being no end in sight for the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and with the saber-rattling coming from the White House with regard to Iran, the U.S. federal government may already be sowing the seeds for more severe domestic resource and personnel shortages that portend an even dimmer future for the next fire season in Southern California.