In my area, the Creek Fire started near Big Creek in an area that was “restored” by the FS after a fire in the 90s. The weather leading up to & during the fire was a multi-weeklong stretch of very high temperatures & very low humidity which never happened 30,50, 100 years ago. How can we “restore” our forests to a less dense state when our current climate resembles nothing like the cooler temps & lower carbon levels in the atmosphere & when trees sequester carbon? Could the extreme dry & hot weather be why the fire created fire tornado’s & a massive crown fire in a “managed” area? Why did some of the higher elevation unmanaged, dense areas have a more productive fire & survive? If we combat climate change & reduce extreme weather events it’s likely we will have productive fires & a “restored” forest density of the past but cutting, thinking & more chemicals to reduce shrubs actually puts MORE carbon into the atmosphere & is putting the cart before the horse. Reduce our extreme weather by reducing carbon & we reduce our extreme fires
Thanks for all the posts on a very important issue. Much appreciated!!! One thing I rarely if ever see is on the notion of Buckley saying we need to restore the forests to a historical less dense state is the fact that our planet was cooler back then & we have significantly higher carbon levels in our atmosphere today which with less trees sequestering carbon will continue to rise. It’s like we are the frog in a pot of boiling water & we are arguing over adding salt instead of oil so it doesn’t boil over when we should be turning off the gas. We need to deal with our climate & it’s issues in our present state and reduce carbon if we ever hope to have less severe fire. Going in and aggressively cutting trees with a carbon intense process as “mitigation” doesn’t come close to addressing the core issues.
But regardless of everyone’s political bias I encourage people to get out there & see things for yourself, think critically & form sound conclusions even if they go against our own bias. I live near the McKinley grove & I used to be more in favor of management in stark contrast to the Sierra Club ideology however I have seen with my own eyes the destruction of our forests due to the heavy handed FS practices. Boggs mountain was touted as a perfectly managed area by Cal Fire but it had a 90-99% mortality fire recently. I have zero affiliation with the below site but I’ve seen similar things first hand which has helped me form a more educated view, even if it goes against my political bias. I’m curious how others see things but the “mitigation” side does benefit from the millions in funds where the Sierra Club has no monetary motive.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I appreciate learning the context behind some of the logging or harvesting and burn piles I saw in the Sierra Nevadas this summer.
You will be interrupting my #1 favorite news source (I read at least 50 daily on many subjects of personal interest, mostly technology and marketing/business), but I support your new effort and look forward to the New Year and the return of the newsletter in whatever form.
TLDR;). Then why are even our “managed” forests burning? Why are some fires worse in these areas?
https://www.ilovetrees.net/mariposa-grove-fire/
In my area, the Creek Fire started near Big Creek in an area that was “restored” by the FS after a fire in the 90s. The weather leading up to & during the fire was a multi-weeklong stretch of very high temperatures & very low humidity which never happened 30,50, 100 years ago. How can we “restore” our forests to a less dense state when our current climate resembles nothing like the cooler temps & lower carbon levels in the atmosphere & when trees sequester carbon? Could the extreme dry & hot weather be why the fire created fire tornado’s & a massive crown fire in a “managed” area? Why did some of the higher elevation unmanaged, dense areas have a more productive fire & survive? If we combat climate change & reduce extreme weather events it’s likely we will have productive fires & a “restored” forest density of the past but cutting, thinking & more chemicals to reduce shrubs actually puts MORE carbon into the atmosphere & is putting the cart before the horse. Reduce our extreme weather by reducing carbon & we reduce our extreme fires
Thanks for all the posts on a very important issue. Much appreciated!!! One thing I rarely if ever see is on the notion of Buckley saying we need to restore the forests to a historical less dense state is the fact that our planet was cooler back then & we have significantly higher carbon levels in our atmosphere today which with less trees sequestering carbon will continue to rise. It’s like we are the frog in a pot of boiling water & we are arguing over adding salt instead of oil so it doesn’t boil over when we should be turning off the gas. We need to deal with our climate & it’s issues in our present state and reduce carbon if we ever hope to have less severe fire. Going in and aggressively cutting trees with a carbon intense process as “mitigation” doesn’t come close to addressing the core issues.
But regardless of everyone’s political bias I encourage people to get out there & see things for yourself, think critically & form sound conclusions even if they go against our own bias. I live near the McKinley grove & I used to be more in favor of management in stark contrast to the Sierra Club ideology however I have seen with my own eyes the destruction of our forests due to the heavy handed FS practices. Boggs mountain was touted as a perfectly managed area by Cal Fire but it had a 90-99% mortality fire recently. I have zero affiliation with the below site but I’ve seen similar things first hand which has helped me form a more educated view, even if it goes against my political bias. I’m curious how others see things but the “mitigation” side does benefit from the millions in funds where the Sierra Club has no monetary motive.
https://www.ilovetrees.net/mariposa-grove-fire/
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I appreciate learning the context behind some of the logging or harvesting and burn piles I saw in the Sierra Nevadas this summer.
You will be interrupting my #1 favorite news source (I read at least 50 daily on many subjects of personal interest, mostly technology and marketing/business), but I support your new effort and look forward to the New Year and the return of the newsletter in whatever form.
Best - Jim Hamerly