Thinning forests no defence against fires
Having logging machines "thin" forest for fire reduction is largely ineffective, a new peer-reviewed, scientific study has found.
The study, led by researchers at The Australian National University and published in the journal Conservation Letters, compared fire severity in unthinned versus thinned forest burned in the 2009 wildfires. It covered two forest types—mixed species forest and ash forest.
Having logging machines "thin" forest for fire reduction is largely ineffective, a new peer-reviewed, scientific study has found.
The study, led by researchers at The Australian National University and published in the journal Conservation Letters, compared fire severity in unthinned versus thinned forest burned in the 2009 wildfires. It covered two forest types—mixed species forest and ash forest.
Global warming driving California wildfire trends - study
Climate change is driving the scale and impact of recent wildfires that have raged in California, say scientists.
Their analysis finds an "unequivocal and pervasive" role for global heating in boosting the conditions for fire.
California now has greater exposure to fire risks than before humans started altering the climate, the authors say.
Climate change is driving the scale and impact of recent wildfires that have raged in California, say scientists.
Their analysis finds an "unequivocal and pervasive" role for global heating in boosting the conditions for fire.
California now has greater exposure to fire risks than before humans started altering the climate, the authors say.
What you need to know about the Australia bushfires
“…Experts told The Verge that under the extreme conditions, there was not much more that firefighters could do until there was enough rainfall to stop the blazes or the fires ran out of fuel and burned themselves out. ‘It’s not humanly possible to prevent [these fires] or put them out,’ Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology based in Oregon, tells The Verge. ‘We have put so much of our strategy for living in fire environments all on firefighters, all on suppression, reacting to blazes. And, you know, now we are facing conditions, given climate change in particular, we can’t do that.’…”
“…Experts told The Verge that under the extreme conditions, there was not much more that firefighters could do until there was enough rainfall to stop the blazes or the fires ran out of fuel and burned themselves out. ‘It’s not humanly possible to prevent [these fires] or put them out,’ Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology based in Oregon, tells The Verge. ‘We have put so much of our strategy for living in fire environments all on firefighters, all on suppression, reacting to blazes. And, you know, now we are facing conditions, given climate change in particular, we can’t do that.’…”