Well here it is in black and white.
we are looking at an epic failure of management for this nation's Forests.
You cannot blame the forest fires on just the climate change alone there has been a huge shift in policy that has allowed the massive buildup of fuels within our forest lands which have contributed to the explosive rise of forest fires.
The real issue has been the past decades of forest management science or as I'd like to say pseudoscience because this is a massive step backwards in Forest management.
Since the dawn of time native Americans have been managing these forests.
Natural lightning strikes as well as intelligent human supporting help with lighting specific areas that were overgrown on fire.
We would clear out the brush and built up fuel from the area leaving the larger trees untouched and cleared of any buildup of brush to threaten our honored Standing Tall People.
The 1800s and early 1900s on into modern times a massive amount of effort was placed into cutting roads and fire breaks through forested lands. This massive amount of networked roads served not only to cut off fires by giving them a space where no fuels were able to help the fire grow.
But also allowing human beings to move equipment and supplies to critical areas. Which was far more important.
Historically fires in the American West really were not that bad unless you were talking national Park lands such as Yellowstone national Park with its total ban on logging saw some pretty extreme fires. I remember growing up and seeing the aftermath of these fires and the total devastation of the overpacked forests.
Fire is a natural process that allows the forest to break down all of the Dead brush leaves and trash that has accumulated in the forest.
All of that Ash is actually very high in nitrogen as well as other micronutrients transferring all of this into an easily absorbed nutrient list.
The carbon dioxide released actually benefits all of the trees and plants in the ecosystems around it by giving them an extra breath of air as carbon dioxide is to plants what oxygen is to us.
And just like growing cannabis if there's more CO2 in the air you are going to get more growth from your plants.
However if too much fuels accumulate it will burn through the thick bark at the base killing the old growth timber basically by boiling the inner bark which if you cut a tree all the way down to the and through the inner bark in a ring all the way around it will kill the tree.
And then on top of it crowning fires which have explosively heated and supercharge through densely packed Forest canopy can gain some pretty amazing speeds.
During the '70s '80s '90s and now into today we are approaching 50 years arguably of forest mismanagement and bureau of Land Management as well as environmental and so-called ecological groups started forcing policy change to completely ignore forest fire protocol management. Basically how to stop them before they even get to the huge fires that we see today with over millions of acres being scorched. On top of that why don't you try to just imagine the massive buildup of 50 years worth of dead and fallen trees.
During the Riverside fire I had watched certain areas that I never knew existed become exposed finally because the buildup of brush for my entire life had impacted landscape on such an immense level. Getting to see firsthand the complete change that fire brings to overgrown areas is absolutely phenomenal.
If I was more adventurous tonight I would track down my old post with the pictures of what these fires look like when I was in the middle of fighting them.
Before this fire had come through it was impossible for you to get to this location and the massive amount of built up fuels burned straight through a massive tree that normally would be completely unaffected by a small brush fire.
It is like you are standing on the moon or some alien landscape. It even somehow fluffs up the top layer of dirt. Which I would say makes it perfect for any new seeds to be laid.
And then with the additional amount of fertilizer from everything burning the next season you are going to see a massive amount of new growth and the entire area will be lush and green.
I'd like to say a lot of prayers that we could have proper Forest management happening and cleaning out and thinning of the trees in our forest to keep them healthy.
Personally I would completely ban all clear cutting and have our forest surveyed and overlay these fire maps to see where the most build up has occurred and get those cleaned out.
Our logging practices also need to change as so much material is just wasted from the modern day logging process. They pile it all up into huge slashpiles which then they will light on fire. Or will just allow to rot.
We definitely need to change quite a bit of our practices and we definitely need to open up and maintain these Forest roads that act as our primary fire breaks to initially limit the spread of these fires.
Common Sense dictates that we have to take serious action because we have been shown how much damage is possible.
Currently there are quite a few historic towns in Oregon that are completely burned to the ground.
And as much as the humans lost so many animals lost everything that they had as well as there was a tremendous toll on wildlife.
Millions of acres this year have burned. Millions alone just in Oregon.
Maybe we can have a new day and future ahead of us....
Here is NBC news...