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The concerning issue with this fire is that humans have spent most of the last 100 years suppressing wildfires in these forests. This leads to an unprecedented

The concerning issue with this fire is that humans have spent most of the last 100 years suppressing wildfires in these forests. This leads to an unprecedented amount of fuel built up on the forest floor, which leads to abnormally large and hot wildfires. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be too much for the redwoods, though time will tell.

h0l0cube 6y ago
Not sure what fire plans California have, but prescribed burning is a thing. https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/prescribed-fire https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/prescribed-fire
- bamboozled 6y ago
  Australia is slowly moving back to using "cultural burning" to help tackle this problem. http://www.walkaboutpark.com.au/aboriginal-culture/cultural-burning http://www.walkaboutpark.com.au/aboriginal-culture/cultural-...
- kaikai 6y ago
  It’s a thing, but it’s not being done on a large enough scale. It’s and incredibly difficult, decade long process to get plans approved on public lands. Private lands are much easier but still need extensive permitting through fire and air quality officials. We’re just starting to acknowledge the former extent of cultural burning in California, and the current need for fire on the landscape. It’s gotten easier to get the general public on board over the last couple years, and hopefully that trend continues!
- labster 6y ago
  It’s a thing we discussed 2 days ago here, that isn’t happening even with public support. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24249527 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24249527
01100011 6y ago
I've heard this argument a lot and it makes sense, but on the other hand isn't there a maximum limit to the amount of fuel(carbon?) that can accumulate? Fungus and detritivores must certainly play some role, no? Doesn't the shade provided by the big trees place some limit on what can grow beneath?
- ummonk 6y ago
  Yes very much so. And you notice it the minute you enter an old growth redwood forest - suddenly the forest floor becomes largely barren of shrubbery and small trees, because the redwoods are soaking up the sunlight and nutrients.
  - 01100011 6y ago
    Yeah that's been my experience but since I've only been in 6-8 different groves I didn't want to generalize. Sure, fallen needles make a good portion of the floor beneath, and they may be rot-resistant enough to resist decay for a while, but at some point they're going to breakdown.
pvaldes 6y ago
> This leads to an unprecedented amount of fuel built up on the forest floor Everybody forgets the second part. Unprecedent amount of fuel AND WATER. Forest soil is a sponge plenty of fungus, tender roots, moss, and roundworms. This means that there is a lot of water in the soil also (and that each year there is more water in the area until is fireproof). Plant tissues store water also. Rainforests do not burn spontaneously. There is a net of streams and it rains. Maybe just once in a blue moon a lightning strikes here and there. When this happens it rains each day at 17h, therefore is a self-contained event. Ancien forests do not burn. Gasoline soaked trees yes, they burn.
- outworlder 6y ago
  You are definitely not talking about California weather.
  - pvaldes 6y ago
    Ok, but California is the home of one of the biggest slugs in the planet, of the second tallest tree, and of newts that climb trees. We should think about it. Definitely the place has potential to be much more humid. We can apply measures to make buildings less fire prone We can apply measures to make structures less fire prone also And we definitely can release tons of water from planes after a fire. So let me propose something, why If we would do the same before a fire?. What if instead to suck and sell all water from the environment we would fix and respect a minimum ecological level of water instead and give its part to the forest?. If the water level descends over a minimum, just provide some water in patches or rings. We would need to pay the same bill from bomber services but we would save the money lost by fire damages. Looks like a win-win situation to me.
- URSpider94 6y ago
  That may be true in rain forests. It's not true in the forests here in California, which dries out almost entirely over the course of the long, hot summer (it often doesn't rain from April to November).

h0l0cube 6y ago

Not sure what fire plans California have, but prescribed burning is a thing. https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/prescribed-fire https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/prescribed-fire

bamboozled 6y ago
Australia is slowly moving back to using "cultural burning" to help tackle this problem. http://www.walkaboutpark.com.au/aboriginal-culture/cultural-burning http://www.walkaboutpark.com.au/aboriginal-culture/cultural-...
kaikai 6y ago
It’s a thing, but it’s not being done on a large enough scale. It’s and incredibly difficult, decade long process to get plans approved on public lands. Private lands are much easier but still need extensive permitting through fire and air quality officials. We’re just starting to acknowledge the former extent of cultural burning in California, and the current need for fire on the landscape. It’s gotten easier to get the general public on board over the last couple years, and hopefully that trend continues!
labster 6y ago
It’s a thing we discussed 2 days ago here, that isn’t happening even with public support. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24249527 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24249527

01100011 6y ago

I've heard this argument a lot and it makes sense, but on the other hand isn't there a maximum limit to the amount of fuel(carbon?) that can accumulate? Fungus and detritivores must certainly play some role, no? Doesn't the shade provided by the big trees place some limit on what can grow beneath?

ummonk 6y ago
Yes very much so. And you notice it the minute you enter an old growth redwood forest - suddenly the forest floor becomes largely barren of shrubbery and small trees, because the redwoods are soaking up the sunlight and nutrients.
- 01100011 6y ago
  Yeah that's been my experience but since I've only been in 6-8 different groves I didn't want to generalize. Sure, fallen needles make a good portion of the floor beneath, and they may be rot-resistant enough to resist decay for a while, but at some point they're going to breakdown.

pvaldes 6y ago

> This leads to an unprecedented amount of fuel built up on the forest floor Everybody forgets the second part. Unprecedent amount of fuel AND WATER. Forest soil is a sponge plenty of fungus, tender roots, moss, and roundworms. This means that there is a lot of water in the soil also (and that each year there is more water in the area until is fireproof). Plant tissues store water also. Rainforests do not burn spontaneously. There is a net of streams and it rains. Maybe just once in a blue moon a lightning strikes here and there. When this happens it rains each day at 17h, therefore is a self-contained event. Ancien forests do not burn. Gasoline soaked trees yes, they burn.

outworlder 6y ago
You are definitely not talking about California weather.
- pvaldes 6y ago
  Ok, but California is the home of one of the biggest slugs in the planet, of the second tallest tree, and of newts that climb trees. We should think about it. Definitely the place has potential to be much more humid. We can apply measures to make buildings less fire prone We can apply measures to make structures less fire prone also And we definitely can release tons of water from planes after a fire. So let me propose something, why If we would do the same before a fire?. What if instead to suck and sell all water from the environment we would fix and respect a minimum ecological level of water instead and give its part to the forest?. If the water level descends over a minimum, just provide some water in patches or rings. We would need to pay the same bill from bomber services but we would save the money lost by fire damages. Looks like a win-win situation to me.
URSpider94 6y ago
That may be true in rain forests. It's not true in the forests here in California, which dries out almost entirely over the course of the long, hot summer (it often doesn't rain from April to November).