Firefighting tactics in Calif. need to change, an expert tells KNX News

As we reach the midway point of this year's fire season, California has seen more wildfires compared to the last couple of years. To help keep up, some experts suggest that the firefighting policies of CAL Fire and the US Forest Service need to change.

Forest and fire ecologist Dr. Chad Hanson , with the John Muir Project , spoke with KNX News to explain why he believes a change is necessary and what can be done.

Hanson, author of Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate , said, "They do some things that are really helpful and are very productive and effective and some things that are not. So it's really kind of a mixed bag."

What the firefighting forces are doing correctly, in his eyes, is what they call 'structure defense and community protection,' which includes helping people and their pets evacuate. They also aid in pruning away plant life from around homes. He says the science agrees that this is all highly effective.

Unfortunately, he said, that is not where most resources and money go. "Most of it is into trying to stop the fire from spreading across the landscape with bulldozers and air tankers dropping fire retardant and water. And the thing is, these are weather and climate events, and they're driven by wind -- and you can't fight the wind."

Hanson said efforts must focus on communities, not "trying to stop the fires in the wild lands on a hot, dry, windy day."

In fact, Hansen says that thinning out the forest can do more harm than good.

"It seemed intuitive to a lot of people years ago that if you remove more trees from the forest, you're removing fuel, and it's going to curb a fire. The problem is the science is increasingly telling us it's the opposite," said Hansen.

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According to Hansen, "When we remove trees from forests, it changes the microclimate, it reduces the shade, it reduces the windbreak effect that the dense forest has."

He said it also creates more sun exposure and causes combustible grasses to grow faster, which results in faster-spreading fires that often burn more intensely.

Instead of diverting scarce and expensive resources to the thinning projects, Hansen believes the focus should be on helping homeowners protect their property directly.

"Simple things like sweeping dry pine needles and leaves off the roof, getting the accumulations of dry leaves and twigs out of the rain gutters, doing the pruning 60 ft around the home, evacuation planning, evacuation assistance - that works, " said Hansen.

Trying to stop fire out in wildlands with chainsaws and bulldozers; that, he said, simply doesn't work. "It's actually counterproductive."

He says the faster policies can change, the better, but he is agreeable to a gradual approach.

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