Experts say 8.8 million acres destroyed by fire so far this year
PORTLAND, Ore. – Members of the Forest Service briefed Oregon's Sen. Ron Wyden on Monday about why it's been a bad fire season this year and how to prevent destructive fires like the one in September near Sisters.
So far $250 million has been spent this year fighting fires. It's been so bad the U.S. Forest Service is out of money to fight fires and is asking Congress for more of it to buy equipment and fund programs to prevent them.
Dry weather has been the primary factor in fueling the flames this season. But interestingly, while the total number of fires in the Northwest this year is lower than average, the total acreage burned is much more. Forest service experts said that fires this year destroyed 8.8 million acres, which is well above the 10-year average.
Normally, grass and brush all over the Northwest holds moisture deep down with enough rain and dew to slow down the flames. The recent run of dry weather, however, has kept firefighters on alert as fires have popped up around the region.
Over the past several weeks, firefighters said the fires have burned stronger and spread faster because the grass and brush underneath was so dry.
To help curb the threat, members of the Forest Service want more money from Congress to clear out fuels during the off-season so those large fires won't burn as strongly.
According to the experts, this year's season can't predict next year's. Even scientists who forecast fires can only do it seven to 10 days in advance.
About three quarters of the major fires this season started with lightning strikes. The rest were human caused.
Just think of all the wealth that could have been created with the raw resources. 8.8 million acres. I wonder how many board feet of lumber that could have made? Of course the logic in Oregon is to worship the trees and buy the lumber from Canada. That way the money leaves Oregon and never comes back making the state poorer each passing day.
U.S Senator Wyden was "briefed". What does that mean exactly? Â Do you think the Forest Service could provide the voting public with a complete transcript of that conversation? So the public could know from here on out - when Wyden intends to abuse and misuse that factual data - and pander it out on his e-mails, his campaign strategies, his fist pumping speeches back in D.C. - for progressive "agendas".Â
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Pretty please, Forest Service. The public has every right to know exactly what Wyden was told. Exactly and expressly every word. So we can watch HIS every word spoken on this topic very, very closely - from here on out. Truthfully so, Senator Wyden - I don't trust you. To be briefed on any topic away from an eyewitnessing public. You take data and partisanly spew it - and then abstractly and inaccurately ABUSE IT. All the time.Â
Dan and KATU - I clicked on the video, to find out what was included, and it just reloaded the article and the video is now gone. So much for having a good link. Where is it?
Logging will slow down the fires. It also keeps wood from burning and releasing CO2 into the atmosphere. It will provide jobs for lots of Oregonians.
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Win win win situation.
 @RalphCramden Renewable harvesting of timber has always been an economic solution - for Oregonians. Natural, renewable logging of our state's all natural renewable trees.Â
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Ya think Americans would be told the truth about economically harvesting them - for once? And then replanting them. So that, cyclically so, Oregonians could once again - economically benefit. A tree growing back after it is harvested. Over and over and over. Ya think, Dems?Â
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Instead hypocrite dems post Obama election pursued an "energy economy" that included deliberately putting up thousands of wind turbines - all across the western states. And they then proceeded to chop up into bits and pieces thousands of birds, endangerered species included, every day. As we speak - as a matter of fact. ONGOINGLY - as we speak on here.Â
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And yet no harvested, renewable tree ever, ever, EVER killed a singular spotted owl. And that's a fact. Hmmm - Oregon dems. Hmmmm - Washington State dems. Hmmmmmm hypocritical mena spirited California DEMS. Hmmmmmmm - LIARS.Â
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 @englishdaisyÂ
My government subsidized wind generator killed several wood peckers when they flew into the blades. Small home wind generators spin much faster than the 18prm of the commercial generators and the birds have no chance. (Losing the woodpeckers was no big loss to me. They keep making holes in my home and outsheds so I am glad to see them dead.)
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You are correct in that the Dems are not interested in creating sustainable jobs through responsible logging.