Editorial: Cope with the drought by thinning forests
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Nov. 20, 2014, Desert Sun.
A U.S. Forest Service analysis of the 2013 Mountain Fire showed that controlled burns and other efforts to thin the forest were effective in some areas.
However, the efforts have been paltry. Richard Minnich, a fire ecologist and UCR professor, calls prescribed burns that have been carried out in the past decade “postage stamps.”
Much more needs to be done.
The Mountain Fire was sparked by an electrical failure on private property near the intersection of highways 74 and 243 in the Idyllwild area on July 15, 2013. It burned more than 27,500 acres and cost $26 million over two weeks to fight. Smoke from the fire cascaded into Palm Springs.
