When is the issue of forest management going to be taken seriously and addressed once and for all?
Finally contained Monday morning, the fire claimed 254 homes, burned more than 3,100 acres and threatened roughly 750 homes. How did we get to this point? The root of the problem is environmental radicals blocking some common-sense fire prevention legislation in Sacramento. Back in 2001, Assembly Bill597 would have allowed forest thinning, which would reduce the threat of wildfires. Thinning is the method of removing trees from a developing forest. This allows healthy growth for the remaining trees and removes the surrounding vegetative fuels that contribute to forest fires. AB 597 was killed by Democrats in the Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee after they bowed to pressure from environmental groups. In 2002, another fire prevention bill was introduced. Under Assembly Bill1983, the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection would have created a program whereby landowners, fire safety councils, cities, counties and special districts could submit a long-term hazard management plan
