DC: Utah state forester Brian Cottam had harsh words for those who shy away from forest and land management policies such as thinning that would reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires Thursday.
Cottam joined a panel led by Utah Republican Rep. Rob Bishop, who is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, at the Utah State Capitol building. The panel, including former Massachusetts Republican Gov. Mitt Romney who is running for Senate in Utah, discussed the effects wildfires have had on the state.
“If you focus purely on suppression — we’re already having longer fire seasons — we’re going to have more fires, we’re going to have bigger fires, we’re going to have more costly fires, we’re going to have more dangerous and, yes, deadly fires,” Cottam told the audience. “That’s stupid!”
Utah is suffering through one of the most destructive years for wildfire in the state’s history. Blazes have razed 370 structures — 363 of those burned in one fire – which dwarfs any count of at least the past 15 years, according to The Associated Press.
Wildfires destroy an average of 49 buildings a year in Utah. more
The mountains here are filled with beetle killed timber. It was illegal to harvest them while they still had value and it is illegal to harvest them for firewood, so they stand waiting to feed the next wildfire. Efforts were made decades ago to change policy to allow thinning the timber stands in order to slow down the beetle infestation. The econazis blocked every effort successfully, and why not? They fill the ranks of the bureaucracies that make the decisions, after Clinton purged any non-compliant employees.
From grade school I remember the fire triangle. Take anyone of the three away and it stops. Oxygen, Heat, Fuel. Of those three fuel is manageable by reducing reducing standing timber and brush. Keeping a clear area around your house can make the difference between having a home to return to or a smoking hole.
Time to take back our country… MAGA
Lazlo fought wildland fires way back after the Civil war in Cali.
The old timers used to talk about how we should let these forest fires go and burn up some of that fuel, instead of stopping them as soon as possible. The brush was growing so thick that the deer migration paths were changing, funneling deer onto the roads to get around.
Fire cleans out the undergrowth, allows young forest trees to get light, adds nutrients to the soil and is good for the forest.
So I can see why the Suits in California wanted to stop it
Back in 2000 there was this group who met in Quincy, CA for several years to talk about what to do about the forests. Foresters, environuts and professors attended. The conclusion was thinning. Nothing was ever done and everybody knows what’s happened with our state.
Cut a tree in Calif without a state permit and see what happens.
As of today, Utah had 43,158 acres burned by wildfires in 2018.
Washington 128,795 acres.
Idaho 145,708 acres.
Colorado 161,418 acres.
Nevada 258,881 acres.
Alaska 269,080.
Oregon 293,495 acres.
California 566,249 acres.