[Canyon] Webinar video & Fwd: Rethinking our relationship and future with fire

[Tom Fiddaman]

Hi neighbors -

The Northwest webinar video is now available at:

http://bcpoa.net/2020/10/post-fire-forestry-webinar-with-northwest-management-oct-7/

We've included the slides and some other materials provided by Northwest.

Tom



  Rethinking our relationship and future with fire

https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/guest_columnists/rethinking-our-relationship-and-future-with-fire/article_246ce90b-14e8-59ac-997b-335a03e3d2b0.html

During this fire season, millions of acres of land have burned 
throughout the western U.S., with over 4 million acres burned in 
California alone, and the fire season is not over. Fires have destroyed 
thousands of homes, dozens of lives have been lost, and persistent smoke 
from these fires has created hazardous air quality across the West. The 
long-term impacts of smoke inhalation are yet to be realized. Near 
Bozeman, we recently experienced the fast-moving Bridger Foothills Fire, 
which consumed 30 homes in a matter of hours.

The factors driving the extreme nature of these fires are three-fold: 
persistent climate patterns in the western U.S. are creating sustained 
periods of hot, dry weather that is conducive to fire; warm conditions 
are drying out fuels, creating explosive conditions when ignition 
occurs; and a growing number of homes and other structures in flammable 
forests and shrublands is increasing the danger of fires for human 
health and safety.

The conflagrations this summer are not unexpected; fire and climate 
scientists have been predicting their likelihood for a number of years. 
Yet, the intensity, size and speed of recent fires and the weather 
conditions that they have created have surprised even the scientific 
community – in California, for example, the Creek Fire spawned 
tornado-like conditions.

Why are recent fire seasons so severe? The answer begins with 
recognizing that fire is a natural and inevitable component of 
ecosystems in the western U.S. Historical records show us that fires 
have shaped ecosystems for thousands of years and that natural patterns 
of fire size and severity vary across different forest types. These 
records also show clear linkages between changes in climate, vegetation 
and fires over time. It is only in the 20th century that we have tried 
to control fires at large scales and break these linkages, and in many 
places, we have been remarkably successful. We now realize that decades 
of fire suppression have had critical unintended consequences – an 
accumulation of woody fuels, especially in dry forests and shrublands.

How can we prevent the worst outcomes for humans? The answer lies in 
addressing all of the causes: slow a warming climate, address the 
accumulation of fuels in dry forests and shrublands, and rethink where 
and how we live.

First, fire is a natural ecosystem process but current climate change is 
increasing the size, severity and intensity of wildfires. This is 
evidenced by the increase in area burned in the West since the 1980s. 
The Montana Climate Assessment suggests that this trend will continue in 
our state well into the future. Over half of the area burned by 
wildfires in the West is attributed to the added influence of rising 
temperatures. This crisis will only be solved by reducing the emission 
of anthropogenic greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from fossil fuels.

Second, dry forests and shrublands, which historically burned every few 
years to decades, have been the most altered by human development and 
land use. The application of prescribed fires is the most ecologically 
appropriate tool that we have to restore low-intensity surface burns to 
these vegetation types and to reduce the high smoke levels that occur 
from large wildfires. We can learn from indigenous cultures who have 
long burned dry forests and grasslands at regular intervals to safeguard 
their communities and promote desired resources.

For prescribed burning to work, it must be undertaken regularly and at 
safe times of year – as is done annually in pine plantations in the 
southeastern U.S. Tribes and agencies are working to apply prescribed 
fires across western landscapes, yet the challenge of reducing fuel 
loads across large areas in a timely manner is daunting. And, prescribed 
burning is not a solution for all forest types, especially those that 
naturally experience infrequent, severe fires. Because severe fires are 
natural in wetter, often remote, mid- and high-elevation forests, it 
will be important to allow wildfires in these settings to burn so that 
patchworks of different tree ages can limit subsequent fire severity and 
spread.

Third, because fires will be part of our future, communities and 
individuals need to plan and prepare for wildfire. Embers can travel 
miles ahead of an active fire and ignite homes by entering soffit vents, 
landing on ignitable roofs and lighting fuels adjacent to the home. 
Houses with protective vents and screens prevent embers from entering a 
home, double-paned windows are needed to withstand the heat and pressure 
of fire, and fire-resistant roofing and siding reduces the likelihood of 
igniting the home. Removing fuels within 100 yards of structures and 
building with less flammable building materials also reduces fire risk.

As we set new records for annual area burned and for numbers of homes 
destroyed, lives lost and smoke-filled days, we are faced with a new 
reality. The message is clear: Fire is a natural part of our western 
ecosystems and will be part of our future. Despite best efforts, we 
cannot manage our way out of the enormous climate-driven fires that are 
occurring across the West but we can adopt practices that can help us 
better live with wildfire into the future.

The first step is to acknowledge that wildfire is inevitable under 
climate change. The next step is to tackle the problem on multiple 
fronts: reduce emission of greenhouse gases that are warming our 
climate, reintroduce fire to landscapes where it is safe to do so, let 
fires burn in remote areas, modify our buildings and landscaping and 
rethink where we live. As individuals and communities, we need to take 
steps that reduce the negative impacts of fire and better plan and 
prepare for a future with wildfire.

Dave McWethy is an assistant professor of Earth Sciences at Montana 
State University; Cathy Whitlock is regents professor of Earth Sciences 
at Montana State University.

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