[g1313]

Of course climate change is a brobdingnagian driver which we need to address. But if there are more local mitigation efforts like forest thinning that can reduce impacts, I think that is also worth doing.

I'm not an expert in wildland fires, but I bet the current disaster has much less to do with any purported increase in forest density, than climate change. The largest 10 fires in California history have all occurred since 2003. Coincidentally the warmest period in earth's human history. Also one of abnormal drought conditions in CA. Did forest density increase dramatically in the past 20 years causing these massive fires, or has it gotten hotter and drier? 

Fire is an integral part of healthy forests. But they've never been as massive as they are now. And they will get worse, with I suspect limited impact from any sort of forest thinning logging operation.

[g1313]

Of course climate change is a brobdingnagian driver which we need to address. But if there are more local mitigation efforts like forest thinning that can reduce impacts, I think that is also worth doing.

I'm not an expert in wildland fires, but I bet the current disaster has much less to do with any purported increase in forest density, than climate change. The largest 10 fires in California history have all occurred since 2003. Coincidentally the warmest period in earth's human history. Also one of abnormal drought conditions in CA. Did forest density increase dramatically in the past 20 years causing these massive fires, or has it gotten hotter and drier? 

Fire is an integral part of healthy forests. But they've never been as massive as they are now. And they will get worse, with I suspect limited impact from any sort of forest thinning logging operation.