The Camp Fire in California is being touted as the worst wildfire in the state’s history. The town of Paradise has effectively been wiped off the map by the fire. Approx. 90% of the structures in the town have been reduced to ashes. The devastation is difficult to describe. The video below is not for the faint of heart.
The number of people killed by the fire has passed 75. The number of people unaccounted for has reached 1,276. The blaze is 65 percent contained after consuming some 150,000 acres. It is possible that some who died in the fire may never be identified since their bodies may have been reduced to ashes.
The heroic efforts of those fighting the fire have not gone unnoticed by PDJT who visited the area late last week.
Back in the spring the US Forest Service had reported a record 129 million dead trees in California. This was on some 8.9 million acres. This equated to some 14 dead trees per acre. This means a higher fire danger. This is also a hazard to people and property.
Why so many standing dead trees in California? While it is true that there has been a drought and that pine beetles have been killing trees, this density of firewood is not seen in the state next door, Nevada. As PDJT pointed out in a tweet last week, it is due to mismanagement of the forests by the state.
While the actual cause of fire ignition may never be known, the catastrophic nature of the outcome had been predicted by experts for some time. People who live in these forests have been begging for proper management (cutting down of dead trees and clearing of underbrush) for a long time. They have been saying that something exactly like this fire was going to happen.
None of this needed to happen at this level of death and destruction. Forests catch on fire. If you live near them, your property might burn down. But with proper care and management at least people do not usually die.
Controlled burns are one of the techniques in preventing fires and rejuvenating soil but the enviro nuts lobby against them and require endless ‘environmental studies.’ When the study says do it, they then go to court to block attempts to clear the forest of fuel for fires.
And forget about logging. The Greens think that all businesses are evil and must be prevented from interfering with nature. Well, what we see here with the Camp Fire is nature at work.
PDJT did mention in one of his interviews in California that Finland is a forest nation and they manage their forests judiciously. Fires that occasionally occur are relatively small events due to this.
Is it possible that the pols who govern California have “seen the light” as PDJT said? Only time will tell. However, I am willing to bet that once the furor over the death and destruction have died down, the Dems who run California will go back to their old ways and spend money on anything but forest management.