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SMS01S040? 40-E.Indd GRASSY BURN: SLO County Cal Fire allowed a fire that started near the Camp SLO gun range to char 250 acres before putting it out this past summer. The area was scheduled for a prescribed burn the following day. 8 Pent up fuel PHOTO COURTESY OF CAL FIRE n estimated 129 million trees in “Our landscape is covered, particularly on California are dead. It sounds State and federal agencies focus on increasing federal land, continuously with large fires over apocalyptic, but it’s true. the years,” Fire Battalion Chief Rob Hazard About one-fifth of those, or 27 million, prescribed burns for wildfire prevention, told the board. “The extensive fire history in died between November 2016 and this county goes back decades and decades. ADecember 2017. More than 60 million died the but environmental groups say that’s not the answer We know that large wildfires are a permanent previous year. BY CAMILLIA LANHAM fixture in our county.” Most of the die-off has occurred in the Sierra The fuels, mostly chaparral and grass; shape Nevada, but forests on the Central Coast have in that time, the Chimney Fire, which burned state agencies are focused on increased fuel of the land, steep canyons that face the way the lost their own share of oak, pine, and fir stands. 46,000 acres and 49 homes. management techniques such as prescribed wind blows; and weather, hot, dry sundowner The U.S. Forest Service surveyed 4.2 million While the Thomas Fire held the record as the burns, environmental groups say the winds with low precipitation, give the Santa acres of national forest land between Monterey state’s largest fire since record keeping began, the government should be looking at where and Barbara front country a propensity for ignition. and Los Angeles counties in 2015, estimating Mendocino Complex Fire in Northern California how homes are being built. Since 2004, the county has had 14 major wildfires that 2 million trees had died from pest burned almost 500,000 acres this summer. Brown issued an executive order in May on 518,068 acres of land. The biggest fire before infestations, sudden oak death, and drought. Wildfire is a natural part of the landscape 2018 to combat tree mortality and double that burned in 1993, Hazard said. Between The U.S. Forest Service says that tree in California, but fires of that size—which the amount of land that’s actively managed 1955 and 1993, the county had seven big fires mortality contributes to the risk of fires that burn hundreds of homes, irreparably devastate through vegetation thinning and prescribed that seared 327,563 acres. Hazard attributes the burn hotter, faster, and longer. The federal thousands of acres of land, and kill people—are fire. The California Chaparral Institute pushed increase in ignitions over the last 15 years to agency has teamed up with Cal Fire and 80 unacceptable to state legislators like Hannah- back in a letter, saying that focusing on dead climate and forest management. other federal, state, and local agencies and Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara). At the end of trees in forests is misguided because the fires Santa Barbara County had a very active private utility companies to address “forest the 2018 legislative session, Gov. Jerry Brown that have been most devastating to California prescribed fire program from the 1950s to the health,” remove trees, increase the use of signed two Jackson-authored bills that push for communities had nothing to with those forests. 1980s, Hazard explained, when about 10,000 prescribed fire on public lands, and change the changes in the way public and private lands are “The unacceptable loss of nearly 10,000 acres a year of mostly grass, sage, and scattered way fire suppression is funded. managed for fire, development in the wildland- structures and 45 lives in the 2017 wildfires chaparral was burned. It reduced the age class “Wildfire is the largest risk to our national urban interface is addressed, and how residents and the losses caused by the 2018 Montecito of vegetation, reduced the amount of dead fuel, forest and the watersheds and communities are alerted about fires that threaten their homes. debris flow have little to nothing to do with and restored fire-adapted ecosystems, he said. adjacent to it,” Los Padres National Forest Fuels “What we have to do is recognize the fact forests or the treatment of wildland habitat,” As a way of explaining the impact of vegetation Officer Nic Elmquist said. “We’re always trying that so much of our weather has changed as a the letter states. “Most of these losses resulted age, Hazard said that when the 2016 Rey Fire to be proactive and looking for projects that result of climate change. … We’re seeing fires from building flammable homes on flammable met with the area where the 2007 Zaca Fire had could potentially help with a more resilient in December, which was unheard of before,” terrain, not the condition of the surrounding burned, it went out. landscape moving forward.” Jackson said. “We all know that it’s happening, natural environment.” “Fires interact positively with previous burns. In 2017 and 2016, six major wildfires touched unfortunately, the debate seems to be about They literally stop right on the edges of those Santa Barbara County, charring 375,000 acres, who’s responsible for it. We really do need to burns,” he said. “Up to about 20 years, we see burning up 1,133 structures, and killing three recognize that the impacts of climate change are All of the above this interaction.” people. The largest of those, the Thomas Fire, very dramatic on our forests and on our entire The argument—to burn or not to burn— Dead fuel builds after that, becoming more started in Ventura County in December 2017, ecosystems. We have to be more proactive than was on full display during the Oct. 2 Santa flammable, Hazard said. Fire danger increases burning 282,000 acres between the cities of many of us would like.” Barbara County Board of Supervisors from there, as does the inclination for hotter, Ventura and Santa Barbara. The Montecito Why those fires are so devastating and meeting, where the Santa Barbara County Fire faster, longer burning fires that are hard to put out. debris flow followed weeks later in January 2018, how to better protect our communities Department made its case for increasing the The county spent $180 million on the killing 20 people (two people are still missing). moving forward is an ongoing debate. While use of prescribed fire and vegetation removal as Thomas Fire and Montecito debris flow San Luis Obispo County has had one major fire California’s elected officials and federal and management tools. disasters and suffered an estimated 8 • Sun • November 1 - November 8, 2018 • www.santamariasun.com.
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