The hurricane-force winds fueling fast-moving Southern California wildfires have exasperated firefighters in western states for over a century. They quickly turn small wildfires into raging infernos and eviscerate everything in their paths.
Their intensity and frequency increased over the last decade, much as happened over a century ago. However, when they torch population centers, such as Palisades, it is an urgent call to action. The choking smoke was so thick that ships on the Columbia River were forced to navigate by compass, and the streetlights in Seattle, miles to the north, glowed at noon. It scorched a mile swath in just 36 hours.
It destroyed more than square miles on its westerly path from Stevenson to Longview. Easterly gale-force winds fanned the flames. Many thought the world would end, and for 86 fire victims, it did. Most of what was destroyed fell to hurricane magnitude winds that turned parched forests into tinderboxes. The fire quickly became a natural blowtorch. Congress and state legislatures started appropriating billions to build forest fire suppression.
Over the years, governments funded road construction, trained and equipped armies of firefighters, and aggressively attacked fires. Just as important has been the focus on wildfire prevention.
For example, in , President George W. If enacted, HFI would reduce wildfire risk by thinning overstocked stands, clearing away vegetation and trees to create fuel breaks, providing funding and guidance to reduce or eliminate hazardous fuels. A primary objection was HFI allowed selective logging. However, it is a starting point for future discussion. Cutting diseased, dead and fire damaged trees is not new.
