Luther12
Elder Lister
Came across this yesterday while watching a feature on DW Tv (viva FTA Satellite Tv). Indulge:
When the Creek Fire exploded to 160,000 acres in just 72 hours, ripping through a jewel of the Sierra Nevada just south of Yosemite National Park, California and the world looked on in horror and surprise.
But the stage had long been set for the megablaze, one of a half-dozen transforming millions of acres of Golden State landscapes to ash. Droughts supercharged by climate change dried out vegetation, aiding its transition into fuel. And as observers ranging from foresters to Californians living in the wildland urban interface predicted, the state's zealous, century-long fight to suppress fires meant this flammable concoction grew to unstable levels.
"This is a situation many of us have been dreading over the past five years," said Chris Dicus, a professor of wildland fire and fuels management at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. "All it would take is a single spark to ignite these trees, and that's what we saw happen."
Droughts also exacerbated another variable that has devastated Western forests: the bark beetle. Although native to the region, the beetle wreaks havoc under the wrong conditions, including droughts. According to statistics from firefighting officials, between 80% and 90% of the Creek Fire's fuel — a full 2,000 tons per acre — came from beetle-killed timber.
www.nationalgeographic.com
www.fs.usda.gov
www.usatoday.com
When the Creek Fire exploded to 160,000 acres in just 72 hours, ripping through a jewel of the Sierra Nevada just south of Yosemite National Park, California and the world looked on in horror and surprise.
But the stage had long been set for the megablaze, one of a half-dozen transforming millions of acres of Golden State landscapes to ash. Droughts supercharged by climate change dried out vegetation, aiding its transition into fuel. And as observers ranging from foresters to Californians living in the wildland urban interface predicted, the state's zealous, century-long fight to suppress fires meant this flammable concoction grew to unstable levels.
"This is a situation many of us have been dreading over the past five years," said Chris Dicus, a professor of wildland fire and fuels management at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. "All it would take is a single spark to ignite these trees, and that's what we saw happen."
Droughts also exacerbated another variable that has devastated Western forests: the bark beetle. Although native to the region, the beetle wreaks havoc under the wrong conditions, including droughts. According to statistics from firefighting officials, between 80% and 90% of the Creek Fire's fuel — a full 2,000 tons per acre — came from beetle-killed timber.
How much are beetles to blame for 2020 fires?
It’s not just hot, dry conditions and fire suppression that has exacerbated 2020's western fires. There’s also the attack of the beetles to consider.
Climate Change Resource Center | USDA Climate Hubs
From 2008 to 2020, the Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) was the primary source of Forest Service climate change information for management audiences.
Creek Fire ignites fire management debate on 102 million trees killed by beetles, drought
Bark beetles and drought together left 2,000 tons of dead trees per acre in the Creek Fire, but land managers debate whether logging is the answer.
www.usatoday.com
