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mike_c

(37,016 posts)

18. a century of fire suppression has led to this situation....

Reply to Are_grits_groceries (Original post)

Mon Jul 2, 2012, 11:37 AM

Jul 2012

Warming climate and bark beetle outbreaks might be the finger that pulls the trigger, but long term fire suppression is the real culprit behind western wildfire severity. Unfortunately, there is no assurance that simply returning to the natural fire regime-- which few appear to want anyway-- will solve the problem, certainly not in the short term.

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Western wildfires are getting worse. Why? [View all] Are_grits_groceries Jul 2012 OP

Turning national forests into tree farms for lumber corporations hasn't helped, either... villager Jul 2012 #1

How has it hurt? former9thward Jul 2012 #2

But a monoculture is a monoculture villager Jul 2012 #6

That's... not true that most federal timberland is in the east XemaSab Jul 2012 #10

Argue with the federal government. former9thward Jul 2012 #12

That 70% isn't "federal" timberlands pscot Jul 2012 #11

The U.S. timberland is a mixure between private and federal lands. former9thward Jul 2012 #13

I did bird surveys up in Oregon a year after a HUGE forest fire there XemaSab Jul 2012 #15

+1 villager Jul 2012 #19

I wouldn't argue that tree farms are inherently more fire-prone pscot Jul 2012 #17

+1 freshwest Jul 2012 #3

Drought would have to be a primary culprit along with an earlier spring and earlier byeya Jul 2012 #4

And it's summer! zappaman Jul 2012 #5

Some of those homes looked new too tawadi Jul 2012 #7

Check this site out tawadi Jul 2012 #8

Drought combined with heat combined with the difficulty of regrowth... joshcryer Jul 2012 #9

If you don't cut and maintain fire breaks, and you don't remove old trees and snags, this results. FarCenter Jul 2012 #14

Old trees and snags provide shelter for many bird and mammal species. byeya Jul 2012 #16

a century of fire suppression has led to this situation.... mike_c Jul 2012 #18