Wildfires: I miss the era of well-managed forests

Most Western forests burned every summer extensively until Americans began to manage them in the early 1900s. More recently, a new forest policy has brought smoke and environmental disaster to our forests.

The managed forest produced wood products, jobs, housing and much more. At first it was crude logging and milling that later evolved into a scientific managed use of the forest, both private and government run.

The managed forest began with a closed canopy of usually old, decadent trees and clearcuts, and the residual wood broadcast burned to create a wood-free zone that acted as a temporary fire break.

The clearcut area was immediately replanted, thus creating a new, vigorous forest. There were roads through the forest to furnish quick access to wildfires. Forest fires were immediately identified and attacked.

In the 1940s I was on a fire lookout in Clallam County and could identify smoke immediately; we could have a person there in minutes and equipment there in an hour.

Until we go back to managing all of our forests, expect smoky summers.

This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 10:07 AM with the headline "Wildfires: I miss the era of well-managed forests."