Threat: Wildfire - 1 Billion Acres at Risk 2019

[The Heretic]

Latest stats I see say there's 766 million acres of forest in the USA....
....I guess some is going to need to be burned twice!

But, on the bright side, after that, there can't be any more forest fires for a few years.

It isn't just forest land that burns - there is a LOT of scrub land, suburban land, ag land that burns.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Latest stats I see say there's 766 million acres of forest in the USA....
....I guess some is going to need to be burned twice!

But, on the bright side, after that, there can't be any more forest fires for a few years.

Does those stats also include privately owned/leased forest parcels like what Weyerhauser logs? As @The Heretic says, theres a lot of scrub, ag and suburban lands at risk too.

 

[The Heretic]

Yes, I think there are about 700-800 million acres of forest in the USA, so 766 is about right. As of 2012 it wasn't a billion.

https://www.fia.fs.fed.us/library/brochures/docs/2012/ForestFacts_1952-2012_English.pdf

 

[L308]

Several folks that have commented on this thread know a lot about forest fires. As I understand it, there is less logging allowed on public land these days. It seems to me that is part of the cause of the large forest fires we have had in the last few years.

Do you folks think that is correct?

 

[The Heretic]

Several folks that have commented on this thread know a lot about forest fires. As I understand it, there is less logging allowed on public land these days. It seems to me that is part of the cause of the large forest fires we have had in the last few years.

Do you folks think that is correct?

I think it varies by region.

Part of it is weather - we've had some dry summers.

Part of it is people; e.g., the idiot kid who started that gorge fire.

Part of it is indeed fuel and policies regarding wildfires.

I am just going by what I read - not claiming anything beyond that.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Several folks that have commented on this thread know a lot about forest fires. As I understand it, there is less logging allowed on public land these days. It seems to me that is part of the cause of the large forest fires we have had in the last few years.

Do you folks think that is correct?

Part of it. Other part... as I've observed recently up the Forest Roads near Cascadia.... a lot of the NFS Roads are cut off with fire break trenches, never backfilled, and left alone... thus allowing a lot more new underbrush to grow. In many areas, I can see a lot more thicker underbrush, and even on some open roads in the Willamette National Forest areas, there is enough underbrush to make driving through them relatively hairy, and that is with a 2wd Kia Sportage on hardpack/gravel roads.

Also, many of the worst fires happened when there just arent any good access points to clear underbrush and remove fuel... the Gorge fire is a good example of what can happen when theres no real access for clearing operations...

I do think having to get permits to harvest dead and downed fuel as well as requiring permits and business deals to be allowed to clear underbrush and do trail maintenance is also contributing to forest mismanagement.

Many of the old forest roads are simply not accessible at all, most of them having had fire break trenches cut across and just plain left alone... others are permanently gated off, and signs saying no unauthorized vehicles allowed.

 

[Ura-Ki]

The Counties and States are supposed to clear out underbrush in high risk areas ( fed supplies most of the moneys) and this usually prevents big fires! With the climate change we have and the money not being spent, ( Gross mismanagement) the forests are not getting thinned and cleared out like they should, and when we get a fire, it gets way bigger then it should! The last three BIG fires in Or. were because of that lack of clearing! Cali is almost 20 years behind on clearing, other States are a little better, Idaho is near the top, Colorado is kind of in the middle, and Oregon is near the bottom along with Wash State!

 

[The Heretic]

It doesn't take long for underbrush to grow back either, especially when it gets some sun because of thinning or clear cutting. I had 10 acres logged last July. I have maple and alder that is grow up out of the stumps of adult trees, that is already ten feet tall - in less than one year - in fact, the new growth started this spring.

I am going to have to go and spray it.

 

[Ura-Ki]

There is a super cool dude in Nor-Cal ( Nevada County) who has a really good YouTube channel, you really should check out if you want to know all about the fires! He covers mostly the Cali fires, but every thing he says also covers the other states! Check him out!
blancolirio

 

[Ura-Ki]

Here is the link for O.S.U. fire risk assessment 2019! Looks really bad now, and will get a lot worse going forward into the summer months!

https://oregonexplorer.info/content/pacific-northwest-quantitative-wildfire-risk-assessment

 

[HotRodGuy]

While I hope that there arent a bunch of bad fires, I wouldnt be upset if there was a fire on the BLM land that is on 2 sides of my lot and spreads onto my property. Would help me clear sagebrush.

 

[CamoDeafie]

So after this weekend, practically no more open campfires for the rest of the season, until Oct-Nov, depending on how wet fall gets to be??

 

[2A2Dend]

Did not read the whole thread, but

Threat: Wildfire - 1 Billion Acres at Risk 2019

Ban them

 

[Siglvr]

Todays radio news is that PG&E in Calif., the same folks noted upthread for starting last years huge ca. fire due to bad maintenance practices, has chosen to turn off some of their cusotmers power for 8 hours here and 6 hours there to lower the risk of them causing a fire. I heard that and thought: How F***ing 3rd world is that? Unbelievable.

 

[waglockfan]

It would be wonderful if this land that is supposed to burn contains the capitol buildings of Oregon and Washington.

 

[GOG]

California is already a Third World country in all but name. SoCal might as well be Mexico and the Central Valley has dried up. Any farming & ranching left is big agra and the locals starve or leave land that was in their family for generations.

San Francisco is the world's largest outdoor crapper and rural and Northern Ca want to secede.
Oregon is well on its way too unless there's a miracle. I don't know much about Washington, but it seems to be in a similar situation.
I think Idaho is still pretty much America but the left is boring its way in even there.

 

[bbbass]

Several folks that have commented on this thread know a lot about forest fires. As I understand it, there is less logging allowed on public land these days. It seems to me that is part of the cause of the large forest fires we have had in the last few years.

Do you folks think that is correct?

As others said, IMO it's a combination of long term weather cycles/trends (I don't think the Climate is Changing permanently) and mismanagement. Cali has had a 20 or 30 year drought, now they are in a wet/dry cycle which causes fast undergrowth development... this is more the usual cycle for Cali, but they aren't clearing underbrush. When I lived there, the forests around Ojai and the grasslands everywhere always burned... we have a return to same, not surprising. What seems to be different is N. Cal and Oregon fires are bigger. Too much neglect. Logging did help clear out underbrush and provide access roads, now the state and fed forest services are not burning slash and underbrush, and they are blocking access roads, plus no firefighting allowed in wilderness areas.

While I hope that there arent a bunch of bad fires, I wouldnt be upset if there was a fire on the BLM land that is on 2 sides of my lot and spreads onto my property. Would help me clear sagebrush.

Is your name Hammond?

Todays radio news is that PG&E in Calif., the same folks noted upthread for starting last years huge ca. fire due to bad maintenance practices, has chosen to turn off some of their cusotmers power for 8 hours here and 6 hours there to lower the risk of them causing a fire. I heard that and thought: How F***ing 3rd world is that? Unbelievable.

My mom lives in Santa Maria and mentioned these rolling blackouts yesterday... can that really be the reason?

I think Idaho is still pretty much America but the left is boring its way in even there.

Yup, my stepdaughter lives in Nampa and the Boise area continues to be inundated with new lefty migrants. I wonder how long before they go the way of the coastal states. Looks like it's happening in Texas too.

 

[bbbass]

Todays radio news is that PG&E in Calif., the same folks noted upthread for starting last years huge ca. fire due to bad maintenance practices, has chosen to turn off some of their cusotmers power for 8 hours here and 6 hours there to lower the risk of them causing a fire. I heard that and thought: How F***ing 3rd world is that? Unbelievable.

From the link:

California electric companies have started taking more proactive measures in order to prevent wildfires, like the deadly Camp Fire that killed 85 people in 2018. According to Time, California's wildfires have only gotten more frequent and more costly in the last few years. Electric companies have also discovered that fallen power lines or other electric accidents can be factors in these terrible fires. With that in mind, they have decided to implement outages when fire danger is especially high.

Californians should expect to see these power outages this summer. When winds are high and humidity is low, electric companies like PG&E are planning to shut off all power to at-risk areas until the danger is lower. PG&E will also specifically be implementing other fire-safety changes like clearing brush and conducting more regular inspections. California Electric Companies Adding Rolling Blackout | Semper Solaris

Well, we wouldn't want to do anything drastic now would we...

 

[Siglvr]

My mom lives in Santa Maria and mentioned these rolling blackouts yesterday... can that really be the reason?

Yes. Absolutely and that is all. They announced them much earlier when they were pressed for a "plan" by the regulators. Here's the thing: early season heavy rain, that is, over 120 percent of normal GLOBAL WARMING DID IT GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! caused lots of early season underbrush growth, and if we have normal conditions later GLOBAL WARMING DID IT GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GLOBAL WARMING DID IT GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!then the warm August weather GLOBAL WARMING DID IT GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GLOBAL WARMING DID IT GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GLOBAL WARMING DID IT GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GLOBAL WARMING DID IT GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!that will allow that more than normal underbrush to burn as is usual in August when its dry. Like it always is in August, it's dry. Always. And hot.

Which will be due to ...anyone? anyone...? I can't say at this time but it seems normal. Others may have other thoughts. However, here is the most precious thing of all: PG&E told San Francisco that they can expect this to come their way when it occurs. Of course, they didn't blame GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but they told SF to plan on having lights out nighty night this summer and all but said f* * you to them.

So lets say that Nancy Pants, the head congress manperson who is from that district, what would she say when it all comes down to BOOM BOOM, OUT GO THE LIGHTS? ??? Right? As a homeowner, you're all pissed off cause you meat spoiled in your freezer, but if your name is (insert hospital with live heart beating, or any high tech company running production as their production line just stops cause they don't have enough backup power.....)

See? It means that any ...what did the President call them? Oh, s***tthole countries outside of Venzuala are doing a better job of supplying power than PG&E will be supplying this summer. The plot thickens as they say!

 

[Hop Sing]

According to the president the Finns have been raking their forests and that has mitigated bigly against wildfires. Will that work here? Asking for a friend.