The Associated Press reports:
A major wildfire in Arizona’s eastern mountains burned out of control early Friday after charring more than 603 square miles of timber, destroying dozens of structures and keeping thousands of evacuees away from their homes…
…As conditions eased somewhat, fire officials took stock of what the Wallow fire did in the resort community of Greer: 22 homes lost, five damaged, and two dozen outbuildings charred when the fire raced through a day earlier…
…The fire has rekindling the blame game surrounding ponderosa pine forests that have become dangerously overgrown after a century of fire suppression.
Some critics put the responsibility on environmentalists for lawsuits that have cut back on logging. Others blame overzealous firefighters for altering the natural cycle of lightning-sparked fires that once cleared the forest floor.
Either way, forests across the West that once had 50 trees per acre now have hundreds, sometimes thousands, and much of the landscape is choked with tinder-dry brush.
The density of the growth has fueled immense conflagrations in recent years, like now burning in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
“I think what is happening proves the debate,” said state Sen. Sylvia Allen, a Republican from rural Snowflake. In the past, a 30-square-mile fire was considered huge. “And it used to be the loggers got right on it. Never in the past have you had these huge fires.”…
…Many in Arizona blame the legal battles that have erupted over old-growth logging that threatened endangered species such as the Mexican spotted owl. Since those disputes prevented regular logging that would have thinned the number of trees, the forests became overgrown, they say….
No comments:
Post a Comment