Kevin Finn
"My forestry professor used to say, “Wildfires are nature’s way of taking out the trash.” Modern fire management techniques enable foresters to conduct controlled burns to remove this “trash,” this combustible debris in a relatively safe manner." . . .
"There’s nothing like a hike through an old growth forest. Whether oak and maple trees on the east coast or redwoods and sequoias out west, it’s immensely soothing to walk on soft, mossy ground and listen to the sound of the wind through the branches.
"You won’t find a lot of four-legged critters there, as the shade precludes the growth of a leafy understory, so there’s not a lot for them to eat. Native Americans picked up on this right away. If you’re living off rabbits, deer, elk, and buffalo, you don’t want dense forests; you want open grasslands or, at most, widely scattered trees. So they set fires to clear the land and set forest succession back to an earlier stage, one composed of shade-intolerant grasses and shrubs. These fires were planned and desired but largely uncontrolled.
"Wildfires are unplanned, unwanted fires that occur in undeveloped locations. They’re caused by lightning, sparks from vehicles and campfires, human negligence, and even arson. They’re also inevitable. Some of America’s wildfires were legendary, and not in a good way.
"One of my professors in forestry school told us the story of the Coeur d’Alene (Idaho) Fire of 1910. Follow that link, as the accounts are hair-raising. When fires get this large, they create their own weather. The rising heat acts as a chimney, and the fire sucks in air from ground level that can uproot trees, roots and all. When they hit the fire, they literally explode. The smoke from this fire blotted out the sun from Saskatoon, Canada, south to Denver, Colorado and east to Watertown, New York. It burned enough wood to fill a train 2,400 miles long, enough to have built 800,000 homes. Twenty million acres were burned in only three days.
"That fire was so horrific that it defined fire management practices from that point forward. In brief, firefighters began to extinguish wildfires as quickly as possible and performed controlled burns to reduce forest litter, which is unburned fuel. After logging, it’s not uncommon for foresters to perform these controlled burns to remove branches, tops, and assorted combustible debris. This also serves to stimulate the growth of grasses and shrubs that attract wildlife." . . . Full article...
Newsom Misled The Public About Wildfire Prevention Efforts Ahead Of Worst Fire Season On Record - capradio.org . . ."As required by Newsom’s executive order, the agency said it paid particular attention to equity — focusing on areas with high “poverty levels, residents with disabilities, language barriers, residents over 65 or under five years of age, and households without a car.”
"Officially, the projects totaled about 90,000 acres. That’s well short of the amount of forestland experts say needs treatment in California, but it would have substantially increased Cal Fire’s prevention output compared to past years."
. . ."Newsom did not identify a new set of priority projects to tackle after declaring victory on the initial 35 in January 2020, even though Cal Fire’s recommendations underscored the urgent need to make this an ongoing effort."
