Forest Service to burn 2,000 acres to study fire

[Cavedweller]

The USFS will burn nearly 3,000 acres this year at a cost of $2 million to study fire.

Climate change is causing more wild fires so we have an urgent need to study fire dynamics. So let's burn 3,000 acres.
Wait, doesn't CO2 cause climate change? Won't we be releasing massive amounts of CO2, making climate change worse?
It's OK, we'll make up for it by driving out there in our electric cars. Besides, there are too many fir trees. We need to destroy some so that aspens can grow back and provide food for squirrels and other wildlife.
Couldn't we just cut some fir trees? Then we could use the wood to build houses, make a little money, and we wouldn't be releasing all that CO2.
No! Logging is bad for the environment.
But the earth is going to die in 12 years (maybe 11 and 1/2 if we do this). How will the aspens have time to grow back?
Shut up!
Couldn't we study some natural fires? We could save some money and wouldn't be releasing more CO2.
We can't study natural fires, we have to put them out. Fire is bad for the environment and makes climate change worse.

These people aren't serious.

The Forest Service Is About to Set a Giant Forest Fire—On Purpose

A man-made blaze on a remote Utah mountainside could provide valuable insights into the behavior of the powerful wildfires growing more and more common out West.

www.theatlantic.com

Read More

 

[titsonritz]

Why not wait for fire season and study a "real" fire?

 

[clearconscience]

Well the govt's doing it so it will probably burn up 40,000 acres, cost the tax payer a Billion, and they will blame some poor farmer.

not to mention they will forget to take notes and learn nothing

 

[nammac]

Aren't there wildfires currently burning in California that could be studied? Or perhaps they're looking to burn perfectly good, perfectly healthy forest lands...

 

[jbett98]

I lived in Parkdale, Or. years ago and one fall day I drove my truck up into Mt. Hood National Forest land to cut firewood.
I had purchased a three cord wood cutting permit from the local ranger station and the resident ranger told me to head on up to Red Butte road as there was a huge slash pile that was right next to the road and was slated to be burned soon. He told me that I could easily cut my wood by just backing up to the pile and drop the rounds right into my truck bed, but I only had the weekend as the burning crew would start on Monday.
As I rounded the corner to where the wood was piled, I found a huge stack of prime fir logs all decked and ready for loading on fire.
The blaze was so intense I didn't want to drive by as I thought it would blister my trucks paint.
On the far side of the burning log deck about 80 yards away was the slash pile I wanted to cut on.
The idiot burn crew had set the wrong deck on fire. My estimate was there was at least 60 log truck loads going up in smoke.

 

[TTSX]

The government is highly efficient and spends money wisely

 

[CoastRange57]

What do you expect from an agency who's budget is spent 50% on fire suppression ??

 

[No_Regerts]

Why not wait for fire season and study a "real" fire?

I bet there are lots of lightly used ones the .gov can study.

 

[gmerkt]

According to some of my reading, before the Spanish colonial era, California was not a complete wilderness. It was populated by approx. 300,000 Indians of many different tribes. The Indians kind of managed the countryside in ways that minimized damage by forest fires. This resulted in forested areas with larger trees farther spaced. They regularly used low-level fires to drive rabbits for hunting or to trap and roast grasshoppers and caterpillars which were a delicacy. The fires reduced brush and insects. This process also facilitated the seeding of many edible plants, such as acorns from oaks. Reducing brushy areas made it easier to hunt larger animals and to travel around the countryside. Some Indian bands that practiced horticulture weeded and irrigated areas that contained especially valued food plants.

Modern governmental agencies charged with forest management might learn something from the Indians. Wise forest management may not be complete, untouched preservation that results in massive tangles of dry brush. I think when we had a rash of large wild fires in California not long ago, Pres. Trump was spouting off about how California wasn't clearing out enough dead brush. He likes to spout off about anything but in this case he may have been right.

As to air pollution. Until we can convince people in Pakistan not to burn used tires for heat in winter (as only one example), the cause is destined for failure.

 

[Diamondback]

The government is highly efficient and spends money wisely

And literally couldn't make a profit running a whorehouse when they tried.

 

[Cavedweller]

According to some of my reading, before the Spanish colonial era, California was not a complete wilderness. It was populated by approx. 300,000 Indians of many different tribes. The Indians kind of managed the countryside in ways that minimized damage by forest fires. This resulted in forested areas with larger trees farther spaced. They regularly used low-level fires to drive rabbits for hunting or to trap and roast grasshoppers and caterpillars which were a delicacy. The fires reduced brush and insects. This process also facilitated the seeding of many edible plants, such as acorns from oaks. Reducing brushy areas made it easier to hunt larger animals and to travel around the countryside. Some Indian bands that practiced horticulture weeded and irrigated areas that contained especially valued food plants.

Modern governmental agencies charged with forest management might learn something from the Indians. Wise forest management may not be complete, untouched preservation that results in massive tangles of dry brush. I think when we had a rash of large wild fires in California not long ago, Pres. Trump was spouting off about how California wasn't clearing out enough dead brush. He likes to spout off about anything but in this case he may have been right.

As to air pollution. Until we can convince people in Pakistan not to burn used tires for heat in winter (as only one example), the cause is destined for failure.

Similar things were done in Oregon by the natives, I've heard. The floor of the Willamette Valley and the eastern slope of the Cascades were burned annually to improve conditions for hunting. The fires were manageable because there was less brush, and as you say, larger more widely spaced trees.