The Wildfire Debate: What’s the Cause of these Massive NorCal Fires?

It’s a wildfire year to remember in Northern California. The past 10 months have produced four of the top eight most destructive wildfires in California’s history, a number that could easily increase by October. Fire personnel working on the massive fires this year have all come to the same conclusion – this is unlike anything they’ve ever seen. Wildfires are burning faster and hotter than we’ve ever seen and the theories surrounding this sudden change have made their way to Capitol Hill.

When Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke visited the charred remains of the Carr Fire, he declared the cause of these fast-moving fires had nothing to do with climate change, and everything to do with a lack of logging and clear-cutting in forest areas. He even went on to blame it on environmentalists.



“America is better than letting these radical groups control the dialogue about climate change,” Zinke told KCRA. “Extreme environmentalists have shut down public access. They talk about habitat and yet they are willing to burn it up.”

President Donald Trump even chimed in on Twitter, blaming water passage laws on the fire:


Whether or not you agree with the water passage laws, most people agree that they have little to no effect on the exaggeration of wildfires. In fact, Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, quickly debunked that statement.

“We have had no issues accessing water to fight the fires,” McLean said. “This year’s changing weather pattern is leading to more severe and destructive wildfires.”

There is certainly some truth to the forest management argument. Researchers have concluded that fire suppression has left forests dense, dry and primed to burn. But Zinke’s assertion that the fault lies entirely with environmentalists is a stretch. Yes, mistakes have been made by environmentalists who overstep their boundaries. Today, modern-day conservationists have realized the science behind effective logging. The Save the Redwoods League has even started a program to cut down 10,000 acres of trees in the Redwood National and State Parks.



But denying climate change’s involvement in these fires is not only wrong – it’s dangerous.

“Specifically for the western states, we know that the wildfire activity in recent decades – at least half of it – is attributable to human-caused climate change,” Kristina Dahl, senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told The Guardian. “This is a reality that we have created and that we are living with, but this is an evolving situation. Where we are right now is just one point on a trajectory that is headed in a worsening direction.”

This sobering truth, called “the new normal” by Governor Jerry Brown, ushers in a new era of megafires for California. Nearly five years of drought have put us in a tough situation. Combine that with over a hundred years of poor forest management and the consequences are significant. These combined factors create a perfect firestorm, capable of even causing a devastating fire tornado.

Native Americans used to use controlled burns to manage their nearby forests and replenish the land. Their experience told them that dense and overgrown forest weren’t good for anything, and properly managing their growth was essential for safety and wildlife prosperity. These controlled burns haven’t taken place for over 100 years and the proof of their effectiveness are in the pudding.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that California will spend over a billion dollars on fires this year, not to mention the countless deaths, injuries and loss of meaningful structures. So finding a coherent solution to help mitigate and limit the massive fires in our state is crucial. But the first step is agreeing on the cause of the problem.




As the political firestorm surrounding these megafires will only increase in volume, it’s important to put ideology aside and see the true causes of California’s “new normal” as a confluence of events. Are these fires caused by human-caused climate change? Are they the product of over 100-years of poor forest management and extreme environmental groups?

Yes and yes. They are a combination of the two. A deadly combination.

Active NorCal

Telling the Stories of Northern California

61 Comments

  1. You offered no evidence that “extreme environmentalism” is a cause of the increased fire activity. In fact, you pointed out that “Save the Redwoods” is planning to cut down 10,000 acres of trees. How do these right-wingers use an actual fact-based article they created to jump to false pre-conceived notions?

  2. How are you going to respond when the climate changes in the next few years, as it has done for millennium, to a colder wetter time period, does the climate change? of course it does, sometimes its hotter and sometimes its colder and sometime it is wetter or dryer, stop with the virtue signaling of your politics.

  3. I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it
    for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to create
    my own blog and would like to know where u got this from.
    appreciate it

  4. Hello There. I discovered your blog using msn. This is an extremely neatly written article.
    I’ll be sure to bookmark it and return to read extra of your
    helpful info. Thank you for the post. I’ll definitely comeback.

  5. Wow, fantastic weblog layout! How lengthy have you ever been running a blog for?
    you made blogging glance easy. The overall glance of your
    website is great, as neatly as the content!

  6. If you’re on thee hunt forr a enjoyable, fair, and secure venue to
    place your bets, you wwill want to check out Vegas Mobile Casino.

  7. The Division of Education setgs one fixed priice for
    all  federal borrowers, regardless of monerary history and credit score.

  8. To know a lot more about the job, the victim contacted the particular person and later decided to apply for the part-time job.

  9. In instances like this, your employer could give all workers a pro
    rata entitlement of days off in lieu according to thhe number of hours they operate.

  10. There are about 54,000 Cambodian workers in South Korea employed in construction,
    agriculture, and in little- and medium-size industries.

  11. Final week, Spillemyndigheden reportyed that channelisation to licensed gaming in Denmark hit a record 90 per ent in 2020.

  12. Hello, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.
    When I look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine but when opening
    in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted
    to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, amazing blog!

  13. I just like the valuable information you supply to your articles.
    I will bookmark your weblog and check once more here frequently.

    I’m moderately certain I’ll learn many new stuff right right here!
    Best of luck for the following!

  14. Wow, fantastic weblog structure! How lengthy have you ever been blogging
    for? you made running a blog glance easy. The entire look of your site is wonderful, let alone the content material!

    You can see similar: sklep internetowy and here ecommerce

  15. My brother recommended I might like this website.
    He was entirely right. This post actually made my day.

    You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
    You can see similar: sklep online and here najlepszy sklep

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button