On Thursday 17th August at 19:00 in St Helen’s Square, Extinction Rebellion York held a vigil for the victims of the global fires.
The vigil was attended by members from other local groups including Friends of the Earth and York Quakers, as well as silent performance artists ‘the Red Rebels’.
The event began with a demonstration by the Red Rebels. Then, activists marched through the city to the beat of a drum, returning to St Helen’s Square to share concerns, anger, and hope for the future. Attendees brought candles to place on a map of the world which was displayed in the Square.
In 2023 so far, unprecedented fires have ravaged the planet. UK media reports have focused on fires in southern Europe that impact UK holiday makers. On the Hawaiian island of Maui at least 36 people lost their lives, and hundreds more suffered burns, losing their homes and livelihoods. However, there is little coverage of the impact of the fires in poorer countries.
Worldwide, fires are increasing in frequency, extent, and intensity. In the US, 1.1–9.9 million acres burned over the 50 year period between 1960 and 2010. In 2022, 7.5 million acres burned – three times the area of Yorkshire.
In 2019, Australian megafires ignited 243,000 square kilometers of land, destroying almost 3,000 homes and killing 34 people as well as countless animals.
These losses show the significance of fire events across the world. The cause of the growing scale and intensity is climate change; the main driver of which is the burning of fossil fuels. As the earth’s temperature heats up, so does the potential for fires to burn out of control.
“Unpredictable weather, increased lightning strikes and the built environment encroaching into remaining forests are stoking the flames. The great lie is that it is economically viable to continue burning fossil fuels,” says Lisa, member of XR York.
“Another key contributor is forest degradation: logging, cattle ranching, palm oil industry, and non-sustainable agribusiness. All lead to huge forest losses as well as increasing the extent of forest fires.”