The Wettest Rainforest in the United States Has Gone Up in Flames

[angrychair]

42. No problem

I work in field. While I am no expert I do have a fair understanding of the "hows" and "whys". In this case, the incident was lightning started , in a remote area. Fire is essential for a forest ecosystems long-term health.

This fire is only 1,800 acres and is in so remote a location that wildland firefighters either have to hike or be flown in. It is no where near the largest fire in the park's history. In the early 1900's there was a 30,000 acre fire. Pre-historical fires are harder to determine due to the remote areas and size of the ONP.

Fires are contained through a lot of hard work and science. Combining experience with wildfires and the science of Fire Behaviour and weather monitoring, it is possible to predict how the fire is going to behave in a given day or for several days. Then the hard work begins. In this case the actual work is all done by hand with chainsaws, shovels, rakes and a tool called a pulaski to create handline breaks and more importantly the natural terrain itself. Using rivers and rocky terrain as natural breaks.
It's not this one fire that is of concern. It is the thousands of fires that are of concern. The hundreds more still that are likely to come this year. That is what we should care the most about.
#climatechangeisreal