Lars Larson: Why gov’t forests burn, but private ones don’t

By Lars Larson,

I have a dog in the fight when it comes to wildfires.

I hate the smoke that sits in my throat the way it did for you and your family this weekend.

Fires in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia fill the air with a lot more carbon than any dedicated climate change true-believer has ever removed.

Bad management of federal forest lands did this, the same way government malfeasance created the conditions that killed more than 100 people on the island of Maui.

Can you imagine how things would change if we treated the public lands we all own the same way private companies protect property?

You don’t hear about massive, long-lasting fires on Weyerhaeuser land…and that company owns more than 11 million acres.

The National Interagency Fire center admits that every year, 70-thousand wildfires burn an average of 7 million acres: EVERY YEAR.

If Weyerhaeuser was that dumb, they’d be flat bust in 18 months.

I’ll point out again that forest scientist Dr. Bob Zybach documents 35 years from 1952 to ‘87 where the Northwest had only ONE large forest fire.

That was back when we used to cut trees, replant them and actually manage forests.

If your throat feels raw from that choking smoke this morning, vote for something different next year.