America is losing its war against wildfire
Prescribed fire offers what the agency has become less tolerant of losing: control. But Tim Ingalsbee, executive director of advocacy group Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE), said a war on wildfire is unwinnable. “We’re just throwing good money after bad in these reactive, siege-like suppression spectacles, versus proactive preparation and treatments within communities.”
Firefighter In British Columbia Attacked By Grizzly Bear On Wildfire.
Within just seconds, the grizzly bear charged the crew lead, swiping at his legs with her claws. Even though the bear made contact with the firefighter's legs, he was able to remain standing long enough for him to take two swings with his paws before the bear knocked him to the ground.
All this happened within seconds. Watch the video here.
A burning planet: Why we must learn to live with fire
There is a paradox at the core of Earth’s unravelling firescapes.
What turned California forests into a tinderbox? Fire suppression, paradoxically
Before this unprecedented era of mega-blazes on the US west coast, California’s forests had a canny, ingenious way of avoiding destructive worst-case forest fire scenarios. By periodically removing the grasses, shrubs and young trees – known as the forest understory – California avoided fires growing to destructive intensities before the 20th century. The way this was done? Fire.
As a Virus Does, so Too a Fire
For months now, plans have been made and remade for how best to respond to wildfires within the pandemic. The effort has been herculean: national plans, regional plans, unit plans, down to the individual fire crew. Plans that reengineer how we’ve performed routine business for decades. Plans that change how to sustain the life and health of dozens, or thousands, of firefighters who are otherwise all working on one collective mission. It is a reflection of the very best attributes of this workforce’s skill set. But a key element of the U.S. wildfire service’s plan to fight fires in the midst of the pandemic could end up injecting even more uncertainty and risk into the equation.