West Coast Under Fire

[Chef Jim]

Climate change?  No. Natural cycle of nature. 
 

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/24/899422710/to-manage-wildfire-california-looks-to-what-tribes-have-known-all-along

 

Before 1800, several million acres burned every year in California due to both Indigenous burning and lightning-caused fires, far more than even the worst wildfire years today. Tribes used low-grade fires to shape the landscape, encouraging certain plants to grow both for tribal use and to attract game.

[SoCal Deek]

11 hours ago, Chef Jim said:

Climate change?  No. Natural cycle of nature. 
 

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/24/899422710/to-manage-wildfire-california-looks-to-what-tribes-have-known-all-along

 

Before 1800, several million acres burned every year in California due to both Indigenous burning and lightning-caused fires, far more than even the worst wildfire years today. Tribes used low-grade fires to shape the landscape, encouraging certain plants to grow both for tribal use and to attract game.

Now the tribes just build casinos for tribal use and to attract ‘gaming’. 😉

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

12 hours ago, Chef Jim said:

Climate change?  No. Natural cycle of nature. 
 

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/24/899422710/to-manage-wildfire-california-looks-to-what-tribes-have-known-all-along

 

Before 1800, several million acres burned every year in California due to both Indigenous burning and lightning-caused fires, far more than even the worst wildfire years today. Tribes used low-grade fires to shape the landscape, encouraging certain plants to grow both for tribal use and to attract game.

 

...quick question Chef for a Cali guy......has there ever been, is there or will there be a comprehensive plan to dramatically reduce the effects of these annual fires?....almost seems like we Rochesterians say, "winter is coming with our 110+ inches of snow.....oh well, we'll just deal with it"......is Cali just benign and accepts the annual millions in damages?....

[Uncle Joe]

Welcome to the (Unnecessary) Mega Fire Generation!

By Del Albright, Fire Chief (retired)

25-30 years ago, a 10,000 – 15,000-acre fire was a huge conflagration. Now we are experiencing 100,000 - 400,000-acre fires regularly.

I would like to offer an explanation based on over 30 years of government service including 26 years with the fire service, as well as beginning my fire career with a Master’s Degree in Prescribed Burning.

NO! It is not just global warming (climate change).

NO! It is not understaffed or ill-trained firefighters.

NO! It is not Mamma Nature getting even with our urban sprawl.

NO! It is not careless campers or hunters.

NO! It is not kids with matches.

YES! It is a combination of many things but more importantly, it is the LACK of forest/brushland/grassland management caused by wacko, radical enviro groups imposing excessive regulations, and restrictions on our ability to keep the west safe from wildfire.

Here are the key takeaways from this article:

· The lack of controlled burning/prescribed fire is directly responsible for the huge build-ups of flammable fuels.

· The end of maintaining fire breaks (roads) in forested areas leaves firefighters with inadequate access.

· The end of logging and good timber management as we used to know it is directly responsible for forests that are now tinderboxes.

Let us take a deeper look at these reasons.

CONTROLLED BURNS:

Going back to Native Americans in America, controlled burning (later called Prescribed Fire) have saved the west from huge conflagrations. By burning large brush fields and using fire to thin understory brush in the forest, we kept the big boomers at bay. We had programs designed to reduce “chaparral” in the west, thus limiting the ability for fires to get ragingly out of control.

In the early days of settling the west, ranchers regularly burned brush fields to make way for grazing and wildlife habitat.

This entire program of controlled or prescribed fire is a near thing of the past.

ROADS/FIRE BREAKS:

When I started with the fire service in the 1970’s we had regularly scheduled building, repairing, cleaning, and maintaining fire breaks around rural housing areas and developments. We kept fire roads cleared and usable for large fire equipment. We had access to remote areas which allowed us to attack fires when they were small. Roads provided a place to start a safe backfire. Oh, backfires! Another art nearly lost today due to liability and excessive oversight by the media and radical enviro groups who have political power.

LOGGING/TIMBER MANAGEMENT:

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you probably remember sawmills. They are all gone for the most part because the radical environmental rules have made logging a financial nightmare. You wonder why wood is so expensive these days? We cannot log; that’s why. Yes, there are still a few holdouts logging here and there. But the feds are hampered by so many regulations and restrictions that our timber stands either get bug infested or succumb to wildfires.

We used to thin forest stands regularly – fire crews, inmate crews, machines that munch up underbrush, and yes, even pesticides to keep the forests healthy. Now, you can pick about any state in the west with timber and you see more bug-killed trees than live ones!

In our western grasslands, the lack of proactive landscape management in desert states has resulted in vast acreages dominated by a cheatgrass-fire cycle that is ruining wildlife habitat and causing bigger and more damaging conflagrations. This invasive species needs to be managed or these western deserts will never be the same – nor will our wildlife species.

In timber areas, for the most part, we no longer control pests and bugs; we no longer do any substantial thinning of the underbrush; logging is kaput, and forest management is a façade. It is not the fault of our public land managers; it is the imposition of radical regulation. It is politics.

SUMMARY:

Public land management is no longer based on science but rather politics. The same goes for wildlife management. Radical enviro groups lobby politicians (and raise untold dollars in support) to STOP all the things that will make our forests, brushlands, and deserts safe and healthy. It is ironic (and pathetic) because for all their efforts to “save the world” they are destroying our world, piece by piece.

To see fires in California reach half a million acres is beyond belief!

What can we do? We must STOP the silliness and over-regulation and allow sound public land management, never forgetting that public lands are FOR the public. Help good politicians get elected and stay in office. Recall bad politicians. Do everything in your power to negate, refute, or STOP the radical movement that has stagnated management of our resources.

 

 

 

 

[Chef Jim]

24 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...quick question Chef for a Cali guy......has there ever been, is there or will there be a comprehensive plan to dramatically reduce the effects of these annual fires?....almost seems like we Rochesterians say, "winter is coming with our 110+ inches of snow.....oh well, we'll just deal with it"......is Cali just benign and accepts the annual millions in damages?....

 

Will there ever be?  Depends.  The environmentalists control the narrative for now.  

 

Controlled burns = Smoke = Climate Change = Bad

Logging = Bad

Clearing Brush = Death to the wood snipe = Bad  

 

Even with a plan to do all of these things there will still be fires.  Mother Nature will always rule and pay no attention to us bipeds that roam HER planet.  People from outside CA give me funny looks when I say "fire season"  

 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

1 minute ago, Chef Jim said:

 

Will there ever be?  Depends.  The environmentalists control the narrative for now.  

 

Controlled burns = Smoke = Climate Change = Bad

Logging = Bad

Clearing Brush = Death to the wood snipe = Bad  

 

Even with a plan to do all of these things there will still be fires.  Mother Nature will always rule and pay no attention to us bipeds that roam HER planet.  People from outside CA give me funny looks when I say "fire season"  

 

...thank you my friend......with the environmentalists' grip on proactive solutions and blocking them accordingly, you live in an annual "season of fear" for your locale.....sucks but stay safe....

[Chef Jim]

4 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

...thank you my friend......with the environmentalists' grip on proactive solutions and blocking them accordingly, you live in an annual "season of fear" for your locale.....sucks but stay safe....

No fear here.  I’ve been here almost 40 years. 
 

Never had anything more that some pictures askew form an earthquake.

 

Never had a fire come close enough where evacuation has been a concern 

 

Never has any type of mudslide even though we have lived on slopes the past 8 years. 
 

You guys get snow every year. 😁

[IDBillzFan]

Woke up this morning in North Idaho with smoke covering our mountains...covering my entire property.  All coming up from CA and OR. Smells like the fire is just miles away.

 

DAMN YOU, GLOBAL WARMING COOLING CLIMATE CHANGE CRISIS!

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

6 minutes ago, Chef Jim said:

No fear here.  I’ve been here almost 40 years. 
 

Never had anything more that some pictures askew form an earthquake.

 

Never had a fire come close enough where evacuation has been a concern 

 

Never has any type of mudslide even though we have lived on slopes the past 8 years. 
 

You guys get snow every year. 😁

 

...CERTAINLY glad to hear you're safe and sound......snow here?.....110+ inches annually is a yawner......an area north of Syracuse (70 miles east of Rochester) is know as the "Tug Hill Plateau".....their annual snowfall record is 469 inches or nearly 40 feet.....

[Chef Jim]

1 minute ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...CERTAINLY glad to hear you're safe and sound......snow here?.....110+ inches annually is a yawner......an area north of Syracuse (70 miles east of Rochester) is know as the "Tug Hill Plateau".....their annual snowfall record is 469 inches or nearly 40 feet.....

A dusting to me is too much. It drops below 50 I hate it.  Why we’re moving to Palm Springs where it was 122 last weekend. Aaaaahhhhhhh. Nice and warm. 

[Uncle Joe]

32 minutes ago, Chef Jim said:

 

Will there ever be?  Depends.  The environmentalists control the narrative for now.  

 

Controlled burns = Smoke = Climate Change = Bad

Logging = Bad

Clearing Brush = Death to the wood snipe = Bad  

 

Even with a plan to do all of these things there will still be fires.  Mother Nature will always rule and pay no attention to us bipeds that roam HER planet.  People from outside CA give me funny looks when I say "fire season"  

 

 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

The piper always gets paid.

 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

28 minutes ago, Chef Jim said:

A dusting to me is too much. It drops below 50 I hate it.  Why we’re moving to Palm Springs where it was 122 last weekend. Aaaaahhhhhhh. Nice and warm. 

 

...LMAO...it was 42 degrees here this morning..............

[3rdnlng]

3 hours ago, Uncle Joe said:

Welcome to the (Unnecessary) Mega Fire Generation!

By Del Albright, Fire Chief (retired)

25-30 years ago, a 10,000 – 15,000-acre fire was a huge conflagration. Now we are experiencing 100,000 - 400,000-acre fires regularly.

I would like to offer an explanation based on over 30 years of government service including 26 years with the fire service, as well as beginning my fire career with a Master’s Degree in Prescribed Burning.

NO! It is not just global warming (climate change).

NO! It is not understaffed or ill-trained firefighters.

NO! It is not Mamma Nature getting even with our urban sprawl.

NO! It is not careless campers or hunters.

NO! It is not kids with matches.

YES! It is a combination of many things but more importantly, it is the LACK of forest/brushland/grassland management caused by wacko, radical enviro groups imposing excessive regulations, and restrictions on our ability to keep the west safe from wildfire.

Here are the key takeaways from this article:

· The lack of controlled burning/prescribed fire is directly responsible for the huge build-ups of flammable fuels.

· The end of maintaining fire breaks (roads) in forested areas leaves firefighters with inadequate access.

· The end of logging and good timber management as we used to know it is directly responsible for forests that are now tinderboxes.

Let us take a deeper look at these reasons.

CONTROLLED BURNS:

Going back to Native Americans in America, controlled burning (later called Prescribed Fire) have saved the west from huge conflagrations. By burning large brush fields and using fire to thin understory brush in the forest, we kept the big boomers at bay. We had programs designed to reduce “chaparral” in the west, thus limiting the ability for fires to get ragingly out of control.

In the early days of settling the west, ranchers regularly burned brush fields to make way for grazing and wildlife habitat.

This entire program of controlled or prescribed fire is a near thing of the past.

ROADS/FIRE BREAKS:

When I started with the fire service in the 1970’s we had regularly scheduled building, repairing, cleaning, and maintaining fire breaks around rural housing areas and developments. We kept fire roads cleared and usable for large fire equipment. We had access to remote areas which allowed us to attack fires when they were small. Roads provided a place to start a safe backfire. Oh, backfires! Another art nearly lost today due to liability and excessive oversight by the media and radical enviro groups who have political power.

LOGGING/TIMBER MANAGEMENT:

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you probably remember sawmills. They are all gone for the most part because the radical environmental rules have made logging a financial nightmare. You wonder why wood is so expensive these days? We cannot log; that’s why. Yes, there are still a few holdouts logging here and there. But the feds are hampered by so many regulations and restrictions that our timber stands either get bug infested or succumb to wildfires.

We used to thin forest stands regularly – fire crews, inmate crews, machines that munch up underbrush, and yes, even pesticides to keep the forests healthy. Now, you can pick about any state in the west with timber and you see more bug-killed trees than live ones!

In our western grasslands, the lack of proactive landscape management in desert states has resulted in vast acreages dominated by a cheatgrass-fire cycle that is ruining wildlife habitat and causing bigger and more damaging conflagrations. This invasive species needs to be managed or these western deserts will never be the same – nor will our wildlife species.

In timber areas, for the most part, we no longer control pests and bugs; we no longer do any substantial thinning of the underbrush; logging is kaput, and forest management is a façade. It is not the fault of our public land managers; it is the imposition of radical regulation. It is politics.

SUMMARY:

Public land management is no longer based on science but rather politics. The same goes for wildlife management. Radical enviro groups lobby politicians (and raise untold dollars in support) to STOP all the things that will make our forests, brushlands, and deserts safe and healthy. It is ironic (and pathetic) because for all their efforts to “save the world” they are destroying our world, piece by piece.

To see fires in California reach half a million acres is beyond belief!

What can we do? We must STOP the silliness and over-regulation and allow sound public land management, never forgetting that public lands are FOR the public. Help good politicians get elected and stay in office. Recall bad politicians. Do everything in your power to negate, refute, or STOP the radical movement that has stagnated management of our resources.

 

 

 

 

Back a couple years or so ago I suggested many of the same fixes mentioned above. I was highly criticized by a few people here for suggesting cleaning up dead fall in the wooded areas along with clearing breaks in the forests and cutting branches away from electrical lines. People wanted to know what expertise I had in this area. I didn't then and I don't now. It's called common sense people. 

 

[Buffalo_Gal]

 

 

 

[IDBillzFan]

Man arrested for starting Oregon fires.

 

Dude's name apparently was Clima.

 

Clima Techange.

 

[US Egg]

3 hours ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...LMAO...it was 42 degrees here this morning..............

Same here, but now it's sunny and 78 and my heated pool is a warm 84°.

 

Thank you fossil fuel.

[IDBillzFan]

 

Man arrested for starting Marin CA fires.

 

Dude's name apparently was Glob.

 

Glob Al'Warming.

 

[SoCal Deek]

6 hours ago, Chef Jim said:

A dusting to me is too much. It drops below 50 I hate it.  Why we’re moving to Palm Springs where it was 122 last weekend. Aaaaahhhhhhh. Nice and warm. 

Laying in my pool there now. Warm, but not hot! 😎

[B-Man]

THEY KNOW HOW TO PREVENT MEGAFIRES: Why Won’t Anybody Listen?

The pattern is a form of insanity: We keep doing overzealous fire suppression across California landscapes where the fire poses little risk to people and structures. As a result, wildland fuels keep building up. At the same time, the climate grows hotter and drier. Then, boom: the inevitable. The wind blows down a power line, or lightning strikes dry grass, and an inferno ensues. This week we’ve seen both the second- and third-largest fires in California history. “The fire community, the progressives, are almost in a state of panic,” Ingalsbee said. There’s only one solution, the one we know yet still avoid. “We need to get good fire on the ground and whittle down some of that fuel load.”

 

 

California is a failed state.