Paradise and Chile Wildfires: Lessons in Human Oversight and CO2-Driven Risks

By Lewis Loflin | Published May 15, 2025

The 2018 Paradise, California wildfire and the 2024 Chile wildfires in Valparaíso weren’t just climate events—they were stark lessons in human choices. While Tennessee executed controlled burns in November 2018 to clear debris, Paradise burned, losing homes and lives. In January and February 2024, Chile faced its deadliest fires, scorching over 43,000 hectares amid a heatwave and suspected arson. These disasters highlight missed opportunities to manage land, amplified by CO2-driven plant growth and historical drought cycles. Here’s how we can learn and act.

A Dry Past Sets the Stage

Droughts have long shaped North America and Chile. The Anasazi vanished after the Great Drought of 1276-99, with aridity lingering to 1350 (Encyclopedia Britannica). A 1600s mega-drought likely doomed Roanoke Colony, while the Little Ice Age hit Jamestown (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018). Chile’s megadrought, ongoing since 2010, brings near-zero rain in January and February, turning summer into fire season. Historical U.S. fires—1871’s Peshtigo (1,500 dead), 1910’s Great Fire (3 million acres), and 1918’s Cloquet Fire—raged before modern CO2 spikes, driven by nature’s cycles. California’s 800-year drying trend and Chile’s arid summers frame today’s risks, not new crises.

The 1930s Dust Bowl baked both regions, with California’s hottest stretch then and Chile’s drying trend intensifying. Paradise endured droughts from 1944-62, 2008-09, and 2012-15; Chile’s 2024 fires hit during 40°C heat. History’s clear: dry lands burn when ignored.

CO2’s Double Edge

CO2 doesn’t just warm—it supercharges plant growth, especially in dry and semi-arid zones like California and Chile. Greenhouses use CO2 to boost yields, but in the wild, it fuels lush brush and trees that die in droughts, creating tinderboxes. Studies show CO2-driven growth increases fire risk when rains fail, as seen in Paradise’s 2018 fire, Chile’s 2024 Valparaíso blazes, and recent Los Angeles fires. Chile’s near-zero summer rainfall and Paradise’s dry spells amplified this. This isn’t denial—warming’s real, CO2’s a factor—but it demands smarter land management, like clearing brush and controlled burns, as Tennessee demonstrated.

Population growth worsened the stakes. Paradise’s population tripled from 8,268 in 1960 to 27,000 by 2018, spilling into wildlands. Valparaíso’s coastal cities swelled, with informal settlements adding flammable shacks and trash. More plants, more people, less prep—a recipe for disaster.

Human Moves, Missed Chances

Paradise’s fall wasn’t just forest policy—it was urban sprawl meeting neglect. Rules stalled private logging and brush clearing; homes stayed fire-vulnerable. The 2008 Humboldt Fire forced 9,300 to flee, and another blaze nearly took the town that July—yet brush grew unchecked, codes lagged. In Chile, 2024’s fires destroyed 6,600 homes in informal settlements, where flammable materials fueled rapid spread. Authorities suspect arson in Valparaíso, with 17 arrests tied to welding or burning, echoing Paradise’s human-sparked risks. Both cases show inaction amid warnings turned manageable risks into catastrophes.

Learning from the Ashes

Yellowstone’s 1988 fire (2 million acres, no deaths) and Tennessee’s 2018 controlled burns prove prevention works. In Chile, Quilpué’s Botania neighborhood survived 2024’s fires by pruning and wetting soil—proof of what’s possible. Paradise and Valparaíso failed to adapt—brush grew, codes lagged. CO2-fed growth demands action: thin forests, fireproof homes, enforce codes. Droughts will persist—geology ensures it—but we can manage fuel loads. Arson, as in Chile, adds urgency, not excuses. Paradise lost homes; Chile lost 132 lives. We can’t change geology, but we can change our approach.

Clear brush and dead wood proactively, as Tennessee and Yellowstone demonstrate.
Fireproof homes and enforce strict building codes in fire-prone areas.
Address arson risks with better monitoring and enforcement, as Chile’s 2024 arrests highlight.
Learn from history—droughts and fires predate CO2 spikes, but human prep can mitigate them.

Event	Year	Impact	Key Oversight
Paradise Wildfire	2018	27,000 displaced, homes lost	Unmanaged brush, lax codes
Chile Valparaíso Fires	2024	132 deaths, 6,600 homes lost	Flammable settlements, arson

Conclusion

The Paradise and Chile wildfires weren’t fated by climate—they burned hotter due to human oversight amid CO2-driven risks. CO2 accelerates warming and plant growth, piling up fuel in dry zones, but inaction on brush clearing, building codes, and arson prevention turned warnings into tragedies. History—from the Anasazi to Peshtigo—shows droughts and fires are natural, yet manageable. Let’s honor the losses with practical steps: clear land, build resiliently, and lean on science, not hype. We have the tools—let’s use them to keep flames at bay.

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