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From what I've read this is a red herring to get you to ignore the fact that global warming and neglect are the root causes of the wild fire issues.

zepto 5y ago
This is certainly wrong. There were wildfires in California before global warming was noticeable. Global warming is an accelerant, but not the root cause.
ianhawes 5y ago
Climate change definitely contributes to the crisis, but ignoring other factors does not help us improve the situation. For example, Spanish settlers in California planted invasive trees not adapted to the climate and specifically the wildfires. When the fire seasons came, the invasive trees burned hotter than native trees, causing the death of more of the flora than was typical.
PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
That is false. These issues were known to the US Forest Service at least 20 years ago, and broadly speaking nothing was done about it. Climate change is helping forest fires to ignite and burn hotter due to reduced moisture in both trees and the soil. To the extent that it may also increase the incidence of lightning, and thus the probability of naturally started fires, it can also influence the numbers of fires. But gross mismanagement of forests for most of the 20th century caused by misguided ideas about what keeps forests healthy is what has led to an almost unimaginable pile of fuel sitting on forest floors that would never have existed in the past.
- noxer 5y ago
  >Climate change is helping forest fires to ignite and burn hotter [citation needed] Actually no, none needed this is obvious nonsense, everyone with a basic understanding of physics can spot that.
  - wizzwizz4 5y ago
    Water has a high specific heat capacity. If you have a given amount of energy (stored in chemical bonds) and some of it goes to heating water, temperatures will be lower. It appears you have a very basic understanding of physics.
    - noxer 5y ago
      Maybe read the quote again especially the part you carefully avoided
CarelessExpert 5y ago
Read the article. It mentions in multiple places that climate change is increasing the duration of the forest fire season and worsening conditions that promote wildfire. The point of the article is that outcomes of poor forestry management practices (a build up of fuel that lead to truly enormous wildfires when they finally burn) were bad enough, and now climate change is dramatically exacerbating those effects. As a result, changing our forestry management practices to adopt controlled burns, thinning, and other techniques, will be a critical element of climate change adaptation. That's not to say we shouldn't stop CO2 emissions as quickly as possible to avoid even worse future effects. But we've already warmed the globe enough that adaptation is already necessary, and this is just one example.
- Eric_WVGG 5y ago
  The thing that's boggling my mind is, we've been hearing about this since the Yellowstone fire in 1988 — the forest immediately bounced back greener and healthier than before. That was over thirty years ago! It’s incredible that controlled burns are even controversial today.
  - CarelessExpert 5y ago
    Yeah, I find it deeply frustrating. We've known about the dangers of wildfire suppression for literally decades, and yet it's taken a very long time for forestry management practices to change. There's likely many reasons for that, from institutional momentum to a lack of funding, but something has to change or forests will simply burn uncontrolled and the problem will solve itself...

zepto 5y ago

This is certainly wrong. There were wildfires in California before global warming was noticeable. Global warming is an accelerant, but not the root cause.

ianhawes 5y ago

Climate change definitely contributes to the crisis, but ignoring other factors does not help us improve the situation. For example, Spanish settlers in California planted invasive trees not adapted to the climate and specifically the wildfires. When the fire seasons came, the invasive trees burned hotter than native trees, causing the death of more of the flora than was typical.

PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago

That is false. These issues were known to the US Forest Service at least 20 years ago, and broadly speaking nothing was done about it. Climate change is helping forest fires to ignite and burn hotter due to reduced moisture in both trees and the soil. To the extent that it may also increase the incidence of lightning, and thus the probability of naturally started fires, it can also influence the numbers of fires. But gross mismanagement of forests for most of the 20th century caused by misguided ideas about what keeps forests healthy is what has led to an almost unimaginable pile of fuel sitting on forest floors that would never have existed in the past.

noxer 5y ago
>Climate change is helping forest fires to ignite and burn hotter [citation needed] Actually no, none needed this is obvious nonsense, everyone with a basic understanding of physics can spot that.
- wizzwizz4 5y ago
  Water has a high specific heat capacity. If you have a given amount of energy (stored in chemical bonds) and some of it goes to heating water, temperatures will be lower. It appears you have a very basic understanding of physics.
  - noxer 5y ago
    Maybe read the quote again especially the part you carefully avoided

CarelessExpert 5y ago

Read the article. It mentions in multiple places that climate change is increasing the duration of the forest fire season and worsening conditions that promote wildfire. The point of the article is that outcomes of poor forestry management practices (a build up of fuel that lead to truly enormous wildfires when they finally burn) were bad enough, and now climate change is dramatically exacerbating those effects. As a result, changing our forestry management practices to adopt controlled burns, thinning, and other techniques, will be a critical element of climate change adaptation. That's not to say we shouldn't stop CO2 emissions as quickly as possible to avoid even worse future effects. But we've already warmed the globe enough that adaptation is already necessary, and this is just one example.

Eric_WVGG 5y ago
The thing that's boggling my mind is, we've been hearing about this since the Yellowstone fire in 1988 — the forest immediately bounced back greener and healthier than before. That was over thirty years ago! It’s incredible that controlled burns are even controversial today.
- CarelessExpert 5y ago
  Yeah, I find it deeply frustrating. We've known about the dangers of wildfire suppression for literally decades, and yet it's taken a very long time for forestry management practices to change. There's likely many reasons for that, from institutional momentum to a lack of funding, but something has to change or forests will simply burn uncontrolled and the problem will solve itself...