It’s winter in Rocky Mountains and the crew of 11 was able to keep the controlled fire under control because of the fresh snow cover.
These operations are part of the $50 billion plan by the Biden administration to reduce western forest density, which has been expanding into firestorms due to climate change.
However, the same warming trends which worsen wildfires could also be a challenge to the administration’s efforts to protect them.
An increasing amount of unpredictable weather means that snow isn’t always available when it is needed to safely blow off tall debris heaps like those in Colorado’s Pike-San Isabel National Forest. This makes it difficult for exhausted firefighters to continue their service year-round.
They want to burn enough vegetation so that the next fire won’t be nearly as destructive as those that destroyed large areas of forestland in Colorado or California.
As a result of climate change, wildfires in the West have become more volatile. This is because forests that were already densely populated by vegetation after years of fire suppression are drying out. The window for controlled fires is closing.
David Needham, a U.S. Forest Service Ranger, said that it was a bit more difficult because the winters are shorter. He led the Colorado firefighting operation in February when temperatures hovered at minus 18 Celsius (zero degrees Fahrenheit). The hillsides surrounding the burn site showed scars from previous wildfires. This included a 2002 fire that claimed 133 lives and was the state’s largest.
Needham stated, “On days such as these, we capitalize upon temperature being in negatives,” and that even small snowstorms can help us.
The Rockies are home to piles of slash, trees and other vegetation that have been cleared to lower fire hazards. They cover around 100,000 acres (40.500 hectares) and are waiting to be burnt once there is enough snow. Sometimes the snow is too thick, making it difficult to access piles. Sometimes there is too much snow, making the piles difficult to access.
The crews from the Mile High Youth Corps and the forest service were able to burn more debris than they had planned because of the overnight snowfall in central Colorado. Officials claim that climate change has made it harder to find safe burning spots.
According to David Robinson, a Rutgers University researcher, and New Jersey state Climatologist, spring is coming earlier, and snow-covered ground disappears two weeks sooner. Robinson has examined over 50 years worth of satellite imagery data on snow cover.
Robinson stated, “One thing that we know about climate changes is that it is increasing variability and the extremes which we are experiencing.” “Out West, when the seasons shift, it becomes very dry very quickly and it remains dry for months. You have a very narrow window.
According to Becky Bolinger, Assistant State Climatologist, 2020 was the most destructive wildfire season in Colorado. Colorado’s summers and fall have also been hotter and drier than usual. She said that wildfires are “a totally different game.”
This winter brought too many snowflakes to parts of the Rockies, forcing officials in those areas to postpone burning. Parts of Wyoming, however, haven’t seen enough snow to moisten their ground or allow them to torch fuel piles. Brian Keating, Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region, stated that even if there is snow, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the debris will stop smoldering.
Keating stated that pile fires can become wildfires because the snow from when the fire started melts. A windstorm can ignite landscapes that were fireproof days ago.
Pile burning can be delayed and can have serious consequences. Forest managers will not allow broadcast burning to begin until the piles have been removed. This is a controlled fire that consumes vegetation in stands that were previously thinned using chainsaws or other equipment.
Keating stated, “If we don’t burn the piles… that can be kicked down to the road another year or so.” We keep adding piles to our backlog because we don’t have the time.
Smoke is another problem: If the smoke exacerbates poor air quality, burns can be delayed.
These obstacles aside, fires are essential to the 10-year planof the Biden administration to reduce wildfire dangers on nearly 80,000 square miles (200,000 km) of public, tribal, and private lands. In the recently passed infrastructure bill, $500 million was allocated for controlled burning over five years.
Last year, wildfire dangers were reduced on 4,050 square mile (10,500 km) of forest. This was the largest number in a decade. Officials hope to be ahead of the problem by increasing that number and using less logging in the future, according to Frankie Romero who manages the prescribed burn program for the forest service.
Romero stated that once we enter a maintenance cycle, it is possible to continue treating the same area while it is in its preferred condition using a lot less fuel. “Then it becomes much easier.” We’re likely to see wildfires in future… and they will cause problems. It is difficult to imagine what these problems might have looked like if we hadn’t intervened sooner.
Advocates for the environment warn that the proposed scale of work could lead to excessive logging that could harm forests and do little to stop catastrophic fires.
John Bailey, a professor of forestry at Oregon State University, said that the choice is between wildfires that rage across the landscape or aggressive steps to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Bailey stated, “Not to accept this challenge is choosing not to embrace it is choosing a future that has a lot of wildfire and almost no control over how they spread and where they start,” Bailey said.
