Our Livelihood Is At Risk

Wednesday, August 05, 2009 03:44 AM

It may be a stroke of luck or perhaps it is the people of the Prince George Area who understand just how catastrophic a major forest fire could be to this city and area that has resulted in no fires in the area encircling Prince George.

We are in a very vulnerable position, in that we have plenty of beetle killed trees, we have a forest full of pine needles and we have had a hot dry summer so far. What we haven’t had is the careless attitude that has been displayed in some areas of the province and whether those human caused fires can be ruled accidental or not they never the less were started by humans.

We need to be vigilant because the summer is by no means over and while we are in a bit of a respite from the hot weather of late, it is expected to return within a week or so.

Human error caused many blazes in the province last year; human error is believed to have been responsible for many of the fires in the southern part of the province this year.

If we are to escape the fire season of 2009 in this province we will need to take extra precautions to ensure that we do not toss a cigarette carelessly, or perhaps watch the hot exhaust pipes from or ATV or dirt bikes, and above all don’t start a camp fire, our livelihood and our heritage are at stake.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

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Posted on Wednesday, August 05, 2009 03:44 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: Denaljo on August 5 2009 6:28 AM

Great sentiment Ben. Too bad their are so many pyros and wackos out there. Not to mention people who think fire bans and such do not apply to them. If you torch a car or burn down a house you will get a criminal record. If you burn down a forest ????

Posted by: Headshake on August 5 2009 11:06 AM

How ironic that this opinion piece cries out against forest fires in order to protect "our livelihood" when it's been fire prevention policies that have allowed these situations to come about. As anyone with an understanding of ecology knows, fires are important forces for renewal in the forest, and the forest industry only wants them prevented so as to maximize their profits in the short term.

Did you know that pine beetles, for example, prefer old stands of pine, such as are allowed to occur when fires are prevented at all cost? That normal, natural fire patterns result in stands of varying age, providing a natural limit to the range of the pine beetle? Did you know that many pine species, including those common to our area, require the intense heat of a forest fire to open their cones and spread their seeds? Did you know that natural litter on the forest floor in this area has a very long half-life, and that fire is the main force that releases the vital materials bound up in litter? Without fire, the forest cannot survive. The ecosystems and organisms in our forests evolved in an environment that included natural, random fires, and without them things go awry.

Fire control and Smokey the Bear are the worst things that people ever did to the forest, and now we are seeing the inevitable result.

Posted by: gus on August 5 2009 11:33 AM

Bang on Headshake!!! The one missing piece is that lightning strikes are the cause of those "natural" fires.

The costly fires more frequently caused by humans are close to where they live. I think it is actually not so much the livelyhood that is at stake but their lifetime memorabilia as well as their savings and labour that went into making a home for themselves.

Posted by: MrPG on August 5 2009 1:14 PM

"What we haven�t had is the careless attitude that has been displayed in some areas of the province and whether those human caused fires can be ruled accidental or not they never the less were started by humans."

Sorry Ben, I have to call you on this one. I still see drivers flicking cigarette butts out of their car windows and leaving smouldering fires at campsites.

What have have been is lucky. So far.

Posted by: NMG on August 5 2009 6:24 PM

GREAT post Headshake!

Posted by: northman on August 5 2009 7:46 PM

Good post Headshake.. Have you considered being forest minister? A side note from that.In a majority of the pine and fir forests around here if you peel back the moss you will find charcoal from previous fires.

Posted by: Loki on August 6 2009 2:34 PM

headshake: I have been saying those exact words for years. Instead of water they should be back burning to clear fuel from valued properties and let the rest go. In reality when a fire rips through an area, it only scars the mature trees and flashes up the debris. The mature trees still live as evidenced by northman.

How many millions are spent each year for the benefit of the harvesters? Gus?

Burn baby, burn.