| Kossak greenfire - a wildland firefighter and restoration ecologist - has an excellent post up on the Idaho fires and the neo-Sagebrushies, "wise-use" clamor against environmentalists and new fire policies for the region's forest fires.
Greenfire's basic point is it's not regulations or roadless areas preventing logging and grazing that's creating these massive fires across the country, it's unprecedented temperatures, extended droughts, and the historical practice of suppressing fires quickly that are the culprits:
Many of the tools to predict fire behavior depend on climatological statistics, which are meaningless in an era of unprecedented climate. It will grow increasingly obvious in the next few years that climate change is having a huge impact on wildfire extent and severity. Those fire behavior events, once thought to be "rare" are happening with an increasing frequency, often requiring a major recalibration of probabilities and fire behavior prognostication. All of the best models break down in the case of extreme, plume-dominated fire behavior. Firewhirls, mass area ignitions, and other disturbing anecdotal tales from the fireline give veteran firefighters chills. There will simply not be enough money, nor enough equipment to combat all fires in all places. Those who choose to live in fire prone areas will adapt or be burned out. This will be a slap in the face to those delusional few, who still buy into the human dominion over nature rap, but Mother Nature always bats last.
Greenfire's post also included a link to this August 1 editorial from the Idaho Statesman, "Don't play blame game with fire management":
Timeout on the blame game. Time for tough reality.
-- We're in the heart of another long, unrelenting and frightening fire season. This summer could match 2000, Idaho's worst fire season in recent history. The fall's first snowstorm is weeks away.
-- The long term offers little relief as well. Global warming threatens to bring the West more of what we're seeing this year: More drought, more parched range and forest, more searing summer weather.
-- Climate change corresponds with a long-overdue attitudinal change to firefighting. The feds are abandoning their decades-old practice of trying to suppress all fires as quickly as possible. This approach strains limited resources, puts firefighters at unneeded risk - and has left public lands choked with trees and underbrush and vulnerable to catastrophic fire, such as the Murphy Complex Fire. The feds need to change their ways, but in the meantime, millions of acres remain at risk.
Severe fire seasons? Get used to it.
And remember, fire season unfolds under Nature's rules - rules that are especially harsh in 2007, and perhaps for years to come.
On a related note, check out Sarpy Sam's first-hand account of battling a Montana grass fire:
The fire was really going so I had to come up with a plan. I started by trying to get the west side of the fire out up to the alfalfa fields. There was a couple miles on the east side before the fire found any timber but we were all ready only about 100 yards away from timber on the west side so I wanted to keep it out of the timbered hills. That's really hard to fight once its in the timber.
I don't want to drag Sam into my argument - I'm sure he has his own opinion on the matter - but it's a great post that puts a little drama into the topic, shows the kind of cr*p our state's ranchers have to put up with on a daily basis, and elegantly displays the virtues of neighborliness so readily present in our state. |
