BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 17, 2020
There is little doubt that the climate of the West is changing, and that recent trends in precipitation have made a dangerous situation worse. However, the causes and effects of fire are much more complex than that one change. Catastrophic fires require large fuel loads, which include brush, woody debris and dead trees. Of these, we have plenty. With the best of intentions, a century of public policy has allowed fuel loads to accumulate to unnatural levels in forest ecosystems that were naturally adapted to regular fires. Forestry, including timber management, fuel management and controlled fire are essential tools that can help mitigate the fire risk in a fire dominated ecosystem. We ignored these tools for decades, and we are witnessing the results. ~ Peter Triandafillou, retired professional forester