Nearly a year later, fire victims in the Trinity Alps are still trying to put their lives back together and have yet to receive compensation for their losses. When these families question how this could have happened and want to know how such a tragedy can be avoided in the future, the answer is not comforting. The studies also point out that prescribed fire, by itself, is a risky management tool and that selective forest thinning and removal of excess woody debris must precede prescribed fire. Yet time and again, federal forest managers are forced to use fire alone, due to political constraints. It s time to drop the partisan politics and stop the divisive bickering.
Healthy forests don t just happen and won t happen if the old debate continues.
We need to collaborate toward a goal we can all share to restore forest health and sustainability in the most effective way possible. This requires that professional management based on good science takes precedence over politics. In California, we need to pay attention to the Los Alamos fire. It is the first of the season but it will not be the last. We need to quickly take care of our own backyard and implement sound, pro-active management to safeguard the future of California s forestlands.