National Forest Service will allow CA governor to dictate burn policy.

TheEl

Billy Hamilton status
Oct 31, 2010
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At this point we're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't. The 'let it burn' policy is probably a more naturally regulatory way of the earth. Seeing as how us humans have infested it like fleas some of the fleas are gonna be in the way of the bigger dog doing its thing.

And to the gentlemen with issues in the water, maybe offer the man a fish sandwich and hug it out.
 
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afoaf

Duke status
Jun 25, 2008
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_____

Phil Edwards status
Sep 17, 2012
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A few years ago I was at this spot camping, and a lightning strike started a fire where that green patch of grass is center of the pic. There was a big fire not too far away with lots of resources. I was fishing in the creek and a helicopter swooped in, scooped water from the exact spot I was fishing and dumped it on the fire. This is a recent pic. On the other side of the mountain around the same time as the lightning strike a fire was burning for several days in more lush forest and they were only monitoring it. Kinda weird since the one below seemed like it would have extinguished itself and the other had fuel for miles in every direction.

patch.jpg
 

hammies

Duke status
Apr 8, 2006
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Before whitey moved to CA there were fires that burned all summer long all the way to the ocean.
 

One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
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33.8N - 118.4W
If we could achieve the same ends with controlled burns it would be better. Unfortunately we have a 100 year back log due to 100 years of misguided suppression.

Always sad to know forests you have enjoyed are burning.

Near Mt. Lassen-

 

Firebird

Gerry Lopez status
Jun 5, 2010
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OC
Wasn’t @Firebird a wildland firefighter?

would love to hear input from someone like himself
I do it all. Wildland, structure, EMS, HazMat, USAR, etc.
I'd just echo everything that's already been stated or that I've said in other threads. It's a political hot potato, and so multi-faceted, that it's not solvable with a simple wave of a magic wand.
It's a huge mess and both sides of the argument have very valid points.

Edit:
There's a great book written by Douglass Gantenbien called, "A Season of Fire" about the 2001 firestorms. Although it was written 20 years ago, the info is still very relevant, and you can see the progression of the problem from then until now.
The guy is a writer for Outside Magazine and SI. He travels across the west from fire camp to fire camp, interviewing hot shots, smoke jumpers, and incident commanders. He is a great story teller and breaks the issues down into understandable layman's terms.
 
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manbearpig

Duke status
May 11, 2009
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in the bathroom
I do it all. Wildland, structure, EMS, HazMat, USAR, etc.
I'd just echo everything that's already been stated or that I've said in other threads. It's a political hot potato, and so multi-faceted, that it's not solvable with a simple wave of a magic wand.
It's a huge mess and both sides of the argument have very valid points.
Have heard similar responses from those who are in the field actually tackling the issue.

Appreciate the response. Be safe out there, thanks you for what you do.
 
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Iceman

Phil Edwards status
Apr 1, 2002
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NorCenCal
Echoing what has been said - it’s complicated. The concept of forest management didn’t exist until us damn humans came and populated the wildland. “Let it burn” was just the way nature took care of itself. The flip side these days is that we still want to protect life, and sometimes property, regardless if it was a good or bad idea to live in the areas we do.

Been out on the Dixie Fire for a week and half now.
09DD7931-134A-4935-BCF1-07994D0F1D26.jpeg
E6D5EC60-AD59-4E93-B3EE-CF8C356C7C93.jpegCEEF8684-CC10-46B2-8723-ABD9512CA67C.jpeg
 

Icu812

Nep status
Jun 23, 2013
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I'm the chief of our small all volunteer fire department and I'm happy that the forest service is able to adjust with the conditions. Typically the 'forest circus' kinda goes their own way but we're seeing more cooperation with Calfire and local resources. We've had 2 sub-standard rainfall years, with last years' rain ending early, making fuel moisture be at very low levels. Plus this summer has seen endless hot days up here, not a good combination. I'm a member of the local prescribed burn association and I'm all for off-season burning but it's just not that easy with paperwork, neighbors, etc etc. The 'real' locals knew exactly how to use fire and they did it for thousands of years. In 2003 we had a big lightning series happen all along the King Range, 55 fires resulted and mostly volunteers put out all but 2 of them. One of those 2 was in the King Range on BLM land and the other was in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Both of the controlling agencies decided to let them burn as 'good fires'. In mid-September a big NE wind kicked up and both of those 'good fires' blew out to 10,000 acres each, with the one in the King Range going all the way to the great Pacific fire break. That was when they decided not to let that happen again around here. Here's a picture my buddy took of the 2 'good fires' when they were small.
IMG_6444.JPG
 

Icu812

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Jun 23, 2013
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Protect property to an extent and let the rest burn.
Well, yeah, lives first, then property..and when you have properties spread all through the hills now you can see the problem. There was a rumor floating around last week that the forest service was calling the Monument Fire an 'end of season' fire, meaning that they were just gonna let it go 'til the end of the season (which will probably happen anyway because of the steep ass terrain it's in along the Trinity River). But that's not the case, there are all kinds of resources on this fire, it's at 82,000+ acres with only 7% containment. Good source for fire info
 
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Ifallalot

Duke status
Dec 17, 2008
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let it burn

why waste resources and put human life at risk?
Because the CA government wants total control

But more likely, this is the response of the government responding to cries of "DO SOMETHING DADDY"