Yesterday's 60 Minutes had a piece on the increasing size and ferocity of forest fires in the Western United States.
In the last 10 years, we are getting bigger and hotter fires than any time in recorded history. They are burning higher on mountains than they ever have before, destroying forests that were thought to be immune because of altitude. The fire season is now 2 months longer than it used to be. They are burning down through soil to rock so that forests may never again regenerate in those areas, or at least for many hundreds of years.
When asked if he believed in global warming, a fire fighter chief replied that you wouldn't be able to find anyone on the front lines of fire fighting who didn't believe in it.
Admittedly, he wasn't asked whether the change was due to human activity, so he didn't comment on that.
But it seems that the scientific community has made a good enough case that we should consider whether its true. It would be hell to be wrong.
There are other reasons, proven reasons, for the changes in fire behavior. Consider that the Sierra used to burn frequently, with a particular spot burning at least every ten years, and some as frequently as three to five years. These numbers have come from the study of tree rings, which show scorching from years in which a fire burned. Thus, we know that the ecosystem burned regularly. Enter people of European descent. We have suppressed fire in the forests for about 100 years. Fire is essential to the ecosystem because it recycles nutrients from downed material, such as twigs, leaves, shrubs, and other low-lying vegetation. It provides nutrients for the remaining plants. Consider that some trees need heat in order to open their cones, and once the cones open, seeds fall and plop into the ash at a perfect depth for germination. Wildlife recognizes fire as essential. Deer roll in the ash to knock off parasites and clean their coats. Birds practically infest a lightly-burned area because the insects are plentiful. These frequent fires were low in intensity because there wasn't that much fuel, and they were a natural part of the ecosystem for many years.
Today, we see fires that burn trees all the way to the top, which are crown fires. Those are the fires that kill entire trees and superheat soils. A fire cannot get to the top of a tree without fuels leading up to the crown of the tree. Historically, our forests had between 60-75% pine, which has many fire-resistant qualities, including somewhat fire-resistant bark and self-pruning, in which low limbs die and drop off and make it much more difficult for a fire to reach the crown. Other trees, such as the white fir and incense cedar, do not drop their lower limbs as readily, and additionally have a more fire-prone bark. You can see that the historical forest had lower-intensity fires for several reasons, but they were very good reasons. The forest was set up so that it would not burn intensely. Note that I am talking about the Sierra Nevada. Some areas, such as Yellowstone, regularly had large fires that wiped out entire stands of trees. However, even these were subject to frequent low-intensity fire.
If you look at our forest today, a vast majority of the trees are white fir and incense cedar. Therefore, a forest of that composition is more prone to fire simply by the virtue of those species. They are meant to burn readily. They also reproduce like mad. Natural low-burning fires would burn up excess small white fir and cedar, but since we have not permitted fires to burn, we have very thick areas of highly flammable trees. These conditions exist all over the mountains. When such thickets go up, unnaturally high flame temperatures occur. Also, such thickets require a great deal of water. Lots of trees in a small area are struggling and competing for resources, and they use an incredible amount of water. That helps to dry an area out, which is another factor in fire behavior.
Therefore, we are faced with a forest that is choked with trees. Where 50 per acre once thrived, now we have 500 per acre that struggle for survivial. Wildlife populations are on the decline in spite of habitat protections. Forests that were pine-dominated and fire-resistant are now fire-prone and full of incense cedar and white fir. It is altogether unhealthy.
These factors have nothing to do with global warming. It is all the result of human activity, both in fire suppression and in logging the pine forest without restoring the pine trees.
Want to know the solution? It's controversial. In order to restore the forest into some semblance of its former self, we must change the balance of tree species by removing the undesirable trees. In other words, we have to log them. Current laws force forest managers to log wisely, and with habitat and soils in mind. All we have to do is let them do their jobs.
That, my friends, is how we can reduce the fire intensity and fire danger in California and in the United States. Forest management will save our towns from burning and our firefighters from danger. 60 Minutes seems to have put a spin on the issue and blamed it on the theory of global warming. The things I've told you are facts. That fire chief may not have personally known anyone who didn't believe in global warming, but I know many wildland firefighters that don't believe it. They have received an education in ecology and know what the forest should really look like. Please question the things you hear on the news. They have an agenda in what they present to you. If you do not believe me, read about Lake Arrowhead. Read that forest management was prohibited there for many years. Read about how the bark beetles came and killed 95% of the pine population. Then, see how Arrowhead burned, and is burning again! Salvage logging could have saved the homes in Arrowhead after the beetles came through, but it was blocked, and many lost their homes. It makes me angry and sad to see that this tragedy could have been prevented. The same goes for Tahoe (the Angora fire), and too many others to mention. Tahoe could have 100% been safe! Hundreds of homes and buildings didn't have to burn! Please, please, question what you hear.
