Forest fires: To burn or not to burn?

“I've been reading articles all over the place as the fire season goes on. What to do about the fires out west when 100 or so years of National Forest Service policy has said to not burn anything.

Those smaller fires are needed.

What about homes built of fire-friendly products in the midst of or fringe of the forest?

Would you let them burn? Speaking of which, what is flood policy: rebuild once and get flooded out after that there is no disaster fund?? I don't know. I'm wondering. And should more policies be imposed on where to build in relationship to the forest?

The fires are now so hot they incinerate trees that otherwise would be singed and live. If ground cover were removed by small fires, these other fires wouldn't get to be infernos>> so say a lot of officials.

What's the answer?”

“i've posted my thoughts before..i'm all for prescribed burning..i used to do that all through high school and college..it benefits everyone involved...or let the forest burn itself off..all these wildfires..they should protect what homes they can at minimal effort...and let the rest burn..it will all grow back..they burned before we were here..they will burn after we are gone. It's all part of a cycle...right now we fight it to save the Cash crop we have called timber, and provide jobs.”

“I agree with Op. (Skeeery)”

“Burn em!”

“if forest ever caught on fire i sure hope someone would put him out, he'd sure look funny with all his hair burnt off.

Let the tree's burn, save the people - it's a cycle of the wilderness.”

“totally agree ,,if you dont' do it ,,nature will sooner or later and then it's out of control”

“I can speak of a flood. My senior year in high school, a major flood hit my hometown of Highland, Indiana. The area that was affected is in a flood plain. The entire subdivision was under water. Aerial news footage showed only the rooftops.

None of the people had flood insurance. The homes in this are were built with cheap materials. Water remained for more than a week. Several homes collapsed because the walls were soaked through and could not support the weight of the roof.

Federal aid was distributed and most of the people took the money and ran. Some chose to stay behind and rebuild.

This year, the river has been close to overflowing again with all the rain we have received so far. If we receive any more big rains here within the next week, they say we may have a repeat of 1991.

I think I would have taken the money and left. Every home was ruined and most had to be completly rebuilt. If I lived through it once, I don't think I would stay around to see if it could happen again.”

“WK.....i think they should change the name of your hometown to lowland....”

“That is just one part of our town, one sub-division that is. I think the name of our town was named after the "ridge." Half of Highland falls south of Ridge Road. Ridge Road was at one time the southern boundry of Lake Michigan. Everything to the north slopes away. I live just 2 blocks away from the "Ridge." The area that flooded is the farthest sub-division north and also the lowest point in town.”

“Most forest ecosystems rely on fires to stay healthy.

Avoiding forest fires causes many problems such as a buildup of highly flamable debris, invasive insects, etc.

Prescribed burns are key.”

“There's some major forest fires burning across France right now. Several people have been killed. Several towns have been evacuated as well. I think I saw this at CNN.”

“Who cares. Let them burn.”

“Wow! I'm impressed. This is a lot of sensible people. Prescribed burning is key to reducing fire size.

Also, the removal of merchantable deadfallen timber and hazard trees that add to the 100 year old fuel pile before a prescribed burn seems to be logical in reducing the chance of a wildfire sprouting from a prescribe burn. (It also utilized waste and creates jobs.)”

“I agree with Adventurist. Fire is neccessary. When I lived in NC on base as a kid, they used to burn the undergrowth every year. It helped the forest to thrive and prevented major forest fires.

As for flooding, isn't part of the problem that developers are trying to dictate the natural tendancy of rivers to shift course of the years? Wasn't the Missippi once several miles away from it's current course?

Flooding sucks for homeowners. But...if you consistantly rebuild on a flood plain then tough tooties - no insurance for you. :)”

“We're in the middle of a huge fire season here (MT). The daytime temps. are near 100 degrees with 5-10% humidity. Anything will burn under those conditions. Forests are supposed to burn as part of their natural cycle, but get the politicians involved and science goes out the window. We're protecting the urban-wilderness interface now where people have built deeper into the forest and we're having to protect structures in areas that should burn.”

“recoverable deadfall for timber companies is a crock..unless they check the stands every few weeks or months..and that takes roads..and we all know what roads do..burn it all”

“I have a trip set next week for Glacier... might have to postpone.”

“Opie, you must not live in an arid climate. Fallen trees can last years and years without deterioration.”

“"Opie, you must not live in an arid climate. Fallen trees can last years and years without deterioration."
BS
12:34:03 PM
07/29/03


On a back pack trip in Grand Gulch Primitive Area, UT, I saw corn cobs and squash stems in the ruins that are over 700 years old. Cool and dry lasts a loooong time.

Also, there are old photos paired with recent ones demonstrating that dead fall can last many decades.”