KSWild podcast focused on living with wildfire
The podcast offers a hopeful glimpse into sustainable firefighting and management operations, shifting away from “a perpetual state of war against wildfire” by communities and emergency responders, according to Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters for United Safety, Ethics and Ecology.
The podcast offers a hopeful glimpse into sustainable firefighting and management operations, shifting away from “a perpetual state of war against wildfire” by communities and emergency responders, according to Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters for United Safety, Ethics and Ecology.
Wildfire Updates: BLM expanding Utah fire restrictions as wildfires grow overnight
SALT LAKE CITY — Here are the latest updates on wildfires burning across the state of Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — Here are the latest updates on wildfires burning across the state of Utah.
The Bighorn Fire is being called a fire management success due to minimal community impact
Timothy Ingalsbee is the executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE) who put together the report said, “Despite its great size, not a single home or business burned and that was a stark contrast to the 2003 Aspen Fire. The change in tactics is about size not severity. It’s going to grow large, (but) it’s not the size that matters, but more the severity. Is it unnaturally severe?”
Timothy Ingalsbee is the executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE) who put together the report said, “Despite its great size, not a single home or business burned and that was a stark contrast to the 2003 Aspen Fire. The change in tactics is about size not severity. It’s going to grow large, (but) it’s not the size that matters, but more the severity. Is it unnaturally severe?”
How federal agencies are failing their wildland firefighters
Sometime in the blur of September 2020, I stood on a ridgeline in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California and watched as the year’s deadliest fire ripped nearly 30 miles down the Middle Fork of the Feather River. The northeast winds that fueled the blowout howled around me and the other members of my crew throughout our 18-hour shift, peeling hard hats from heads, cracking lips, sandblasting eyelids until they puffed shut around grit-scratched corneas.
Sometime in the blur of September 2020, I stood on a ridgeline in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California and watched as the year’s deadliest fire ripped nearly 30 miles down the Middle Fork of the Feather River. The northeast winds that fueled the blowout howled around me and the other members of my crew throughout our 18-hour shift, peeling hard hats from heads, cracking lips, sandblasting eyelids until they puffed shut around grit-scratched corneas.
Crews use minimum impact suppression techniques to allow Johnson Fire to play its natural role in the Gila Wilderness Area
The Johnson Fire is approximately 38,225 acres and is burning in the Gila Wilderness on the Gila National Forest. The suppression strategy for this fire is confine and contain. Firefighters completed fireline preparation on Trails #151, #163 and #162 in anticipation of burn-out operations to occur later this week. The structure protection group completed protection of archeological sites up Cliff Dweller Canyon. Today firefighters will monitor fire activity along the western edge of the fire.
The Johnson Fire is approximately 38,225 acres and is burning in the Gila Wilderness on the Gila National Forest. The suppression strategy for this fire is confine and contain. Firefighters completed fireline preparation on Trails #151, #163 and #162 in anticipation of burn-out operations to occur later this week. The structure protection group completed protection of archeological sites up Cliff Dweller Canyon. Today firefighters will monitor fire activity along the western edge of the fire.
Regular people learn to do prescribed burns
“Most private land needs to be underburned, but you usually can’t do it unless you can apply a lot of manpower,” he said. “My great hope is that there could be a labor exchange. With the prescribed burn association, we can do that. I could give time to my neighbor, and he could help me.” The dozens of people who visited Fairbanks’ land this spring got plenty of before-and-after views of prescribed burns. They could see the forest floor sporting a new carpet of greenery and wildflowers that sprouted after small burns he carried out in February and March. The prescribed burn they helped tend left behind a blackened surface, but not for long.
“Most private land needs to be underburned, but you usually can’t do it unless you can apply a lot of manpower,” he said. “My great hope is that there could be a labor exchange. With the prescribed burn association, we can do that. I could give time to my neighbor, and he could help me.” The dozens of people who visited Fairbanks’ land this spring got plenty of before-and-after views of prescribed burns. They could see the forest floor sporting a new carpet of greenery and wildflowers that sprouted after small burns he carried out in February and March. The prescribed burn they helped tend left behind a blackened surface, but not for long.
Oregon Department of Transportation is a hazard to Oregon’s wildfire recovery
The forests of our region have co-evolved with fire for millennia, and as the climate crisis progresses, we will see longer fire seasons and more extreme weather events. Even now, we are facing what is shaping up to be another historic wildfire season with Oregon already experiencing the second driest spring since 1895. If we continue to respond to these wildfires by bowing to the demands of disaster capitalists and allowing for the indiscriminate removal of large trees, alive and dead, we are creating a precedent for unending ecological destruction and setting ourselves up for worse disasters in the future.
The forests of our region have co-evolved with fire for millennia, and as the climate crisis progresses, we will see longer fire seasons and more extreme weather events. Even now, we are facing what is shaping up to be another historic wildfire season with Oregon already experiencing the second driest spring since 1895. If we continue to respond to these wildfires by bowing to the demands of disaster capitalists and allowing for the indiscriminate removal of large trees, alive and dead, we are creating a precedent for unending ecological destruction and setting ourselves up for worse disasters in the future.
Experts scrutinize Oregon’s troubled hazard tree removal project
ODOT’s goal in the state’s ongoing hazard tree removal operation is to protect people from burned trees that could fall onto roads or buildings. But deciding which trees actually pose that risk is complicated, and a growing number of people say ODOT’s contractors are hastily marking too many trees for removal — including trees that aren’t actually hazardous.
ODOT’s goal in the state’s ongoing hazard tree removal operation is to protect people from burned trees that could fall onto roads or buildings. But deciding which trees actually pose that risk is complicated, and a growing number of people say ODOT’s contractors are hastily marking too many trees for removal — including trees that aren’t actually hazardous.
Fire officials aim to squelch wildfires while small, avoiding megafires
BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. officials said Thursday that they will try to stamp out wildfires as quickly as possible this year as severe drought tightens its grip across the West and sets the stage for another destructive summer of blazes.
BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. officials said Thursday that they will try to stamp out wildfires as quickly as possible this year as severe drought tightens its grip across the West and sets the stage for another destructive summer of blazes.
Oregon’s post-fire logging is taking trees that may never be hazards, experts say
Tree No. 252256 is a 95-foot Douglas Fir that stands south of Oregon 22 east of Mehama, one of dozens of trees in this patch of the Santiam Canyon that has been tagged to be cut as part of the state’s troubled hazard tree removal program.
Tree No. 252256 is a 95-foot Douglas Fir that stands south of Oregon 22 east of Mehama, one of dozens of trees in this patch of the Santiam Canyon that has been tagged to be cut as part of the state’s troubled hazard tree removal program.
Protestors decry post-fire roadside logging
Protestors gathered in a park near the Oregon Capitol Thursday to denounce what they called overzealous logging practices in areas burned in last year’s wildfires. Specifically, the group wants the state to stop cutting trees along the sides of state highways.
Protestors gathered in a park near the Oregon Capitol Thursday to denounce what they called overzealous logging practices in areas burned in last year’s wildfires. Specifically, the group wants the state to stop cutting trees along the sides of state highways.
‘It’s absolutely insane’: Swaths of trees cut after Oregon fires amid allegations of mismanagement
As the hazardous tree-removal program overseen by the Oregon Department of Transportation goes into high gear after last fall’s devastating wildfires, many of Oregon’s most scenic and beloved areas are being transformed into post-apocalyptic stretches of roadside clearcuts, gargantuan log piles and slash.
As the hazardous tree-removal program overseen by the Oregon Department of Transportation goes into high gear after last fall’s devastating wildfires, many of Oregon’s most scenic and beloved areas are being transformed into post-apocalyptic stretches of roadside clearcuts, gargantuan log piles and slash.
Groups Seek Liability Reforms to Fight Wildfire
According to Karuk Natural Resources Director and traditional fire practitioner Bill Tripp, "My ancestors practiced cultural burning for millennia along the Klamath and Salmon Rivers. Low intensity burns at the right time of year reduce wildfire risks in our communities and promote forest health. We must enact policies to enable and encourage rural communities to do this important work."
According to Karuk Natural Resources Director and traditional fire practitioner Bill Tripp, "My ancestors practiced cultural burning for millennia along the Klamath and Salmon Rivers. Low intensity burns at the right time of year reduce wildfire risks in our communities and promote forest health. We must enact policies to enable and encourage rural communities to do this important work."
Arborists say ODOT post-fires tree cutting is excessive, rushed
And a growing number of people are sounding alarms over excessive tree-cutting along scenic highways and protected rivers as the Oregon Department of Transportation and its contractors proceed with plans to cut nearly 300,000 trees deemed as hazardous. The critics include arborists who have worked on the project and say the reckless tree-cutting operations across the state are being mismanaged and need to be stopped.
And a growing number of people are sounding alarms over excessive tree-cutting along scenic highways and protected rivers as the Oregon Department of Transportation and its contractors proceed with plans to cut nearly 300,000 trees deemed as hazardous. The critics include arborists who have worked on the project and say the reckless tree-cutting operations across the state are being mismanaged and need to be stopped.
Opinion: Willamette National Forest’s hazard tree hysteria
The Oregon Department of Transportation has been busy hiring contractors to cut down fire-killed trees along heavily-traveled highways. These trees could pose danger to motorists or disrupt traffic if they fall. Now the U.S. Forest Service wants to conduct its own “hazard tree removal” in the Willamette National Forest – only in this case, the logging would occur along hundreds of miles of remote, rarely-traveled logging roads.
The Oregon Department of Transportation has been busy hiring contractors to cut down fire-killed trees along heavily-traveled highways. These trees could pose danger to motorists or disrupt traffic if they fall. Now the U.S. Forest Service wants to conduct its own “hazard tree removal” in the Willamette National Forest – only in this case, the logging would occur along hundreds of miles of remote, rarely-traveled logging roads.
Other utilities cut power to reduce Labor Day fire risks. Pacific Power did not. Now it may face the consequences
In June 2019, Pacific Power representatives attended a community fair in Happy Camp, California, 20 miles south of the Oregon border, to share highlights of the wildfire prevention plan the company had been required to file months earlier with California regulators.
In June 2019, Pacific Power representatives attended a community fair in Happy Camp, California, 20 miles south of the Oregon border, to share highlights of the wildfire prevention plan the company had been required to file months earlier with California regulators.
Op-Ed: The slippery slope of hazard-tree logging
Pacific Northwest forests are crisscrossed with roads — enough logging roads alone to circle the planet 13 times. Some asphalt, some gravel, some renowned for their scenic vistas and traveled by visitors from around the world, others rarely used, converted to trails or permanently decommissioned. These roads are among the most harmful human impacts to our forests: increasing wildfire risk, releasing sediment into our waterways and chopping up intact habitat into small, degraded remnants.
Pacific Northwest forests are crisscrossed with roads — enough logging roads alone to circle the planet 13 times. Some asphalt, some gravel, some renowned for their scenic vistas and traveled by visitors from around the world, others rarely used, converted to trails or permanently decommissioned. These roads are among the most harmful human impacts to our forests: increasing wildfire risk, releasing sediment into our waterways and chopping up intact habitat into small, degraded remnants.
Has Eugene, Oregon, found a ‘superpower’ for climate action?
Tyee Williams has been on the frontlines of climate change as a wildland firefighter. He helped battle the Pine Gulch Fire, one of three record-setting fires in Colorado last summer and fall — all scorching examples of how the climate crisis is intensifying wildfires in the Western U.S.
Tyee Williams has been on the frontlines of climate change as a wildland firefighter. He helped battle the Pine Gulch Fire, one of three record-setting fires in Colorado last summer and fall — all scorching examples of how the climate crisis is intensifying wildfires in the Western U.S.
Oregon lawmakers consider new rules for wildfire prevention. Bills would boost spending on wildfire response and reducing risk for communities
Oregon lawmakers are considering two bills that aim to prevent the kind of catastrophic wildfires that tore through the state last year.
Senate Bill 287 and Senate Bill 248 would require mapping wildfire risk across the state and working to reduce it with more funding for wildfire response and a variety of policy changes.
Oregon lawmakers are considering two bills that aim to prevent the kind of catastrophic wildfires that tore through the state last year.
Senate Bill 287 and Senate Bill 248 would require mapping wildfire risk across the state and working to reduce it with more funding for wildfire response and a variety of policy changes.