As Colorado and New Mexico burn, scientists say prepare for more

[marmar]

A massive wildlife in Colorado still burns after it has killed one person and damaged or destroyed over a hundred structures. The fire, the third largest in Colorado's history, has burned 39,500 acres (16,000 hectares) to date. Meanwhile in central New Mexico, another wildfire has damaged or destroyed 35 structures and burned 34,500 acres (14,000 hectares). This comes just weeks after New Mexico's largest wildfire ever—still going—has burned up over 247,000 acres (100,000 hectares) of the Gila Forest. Weeks of heroic efforts by thousands of firefighters have contained this megafire by only 37 percent to date. Now, a new scientific study in Ecospshere has found that North America and Europe must prepare for even more fires as global temperatures continue to rise from climate change.

"In the long run, we found what most fear — increasing fire activity across large parts of the planet," lead author Max Moritz, a fire specialist in UC Cooperative Extension, said in a press release. "But the speed and extent to which some of these changes may happen is surprising."

Looking at 16 climate models and satellite data, the researchers found that fires will likely increase across much of North America and Europe. Evidence was especially strong across the various models that fires will increase both in the near term (2010-2039) and long term (2070-2099) in the western U.S.

"When many different models paint the same picture, that gives us confidence that the results of our study reflect a robust fire frequency projection for that region," said co-author Katharine Hayhoe at the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. "What is clear is that the choices we are making as a society right now and in the next few decades will determine what Earth's climate will look like over this century and beyond." ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0612-hance-fires-us.html#ixzz1xh7M7yBQ

[msongs]

1. fire cleans up the forest and burns out overgrowth and excess. nature's cleaning process nt

[Auggie]

2. That's not showing much solace for people losing their homes or lives

[magical thyme]

3. that was true in the past

when fires were allowed to burn naturally, and before the climate started increasing droughts and desertification. Then they burned lower, cooler, and took out dead brush, but left most of the forest standing.

Now, typical forest management has stopped fires from their natural cleanup operations, allowed dead tree and brush debris to pile up. As a result, fires now burn too hot and out of control, leaving behind total destruction and leaving the landscape prone to erosion and top soil loss.

I believe one of the recent New Mexico fires is in an experimental area where they have been allowing slow burns. From what I read, that area only had 20% of the fire totally destructive, versus most or all of the rest of the areas.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

4. Not when they occur

with ever increasing frequency. I don't know what's worse, losing the oxygen produces trees or the waste of billions of gallons of water.

[4th law of robotics]

8. Yes and no

Yes it does all those things when fires are allowed to burn regularly.

But instead we try our best to prevent fires so the debris builds up for years and years until it gets to the point that we can't stop it and it actually does real damage.

Controlled burns are a really good idea because they prevent out of control fires and ultimately make the forests healthier.

For some reason we haven't really latched on to that idea though.

[fizzgig]

5. pine beetle kill is a big issue here in colorado

whole swaths of our forests are standing dead from the beetles, fuel ripe for the burning.

the colorado fire is up to about 47k acres now, some evacuees are being allowed to return home but other areas are on notice. it's hot, dry and the winds are a big concern, i smelled the smoke again when i woke up this morning. only about 10 percent containment right now, i keep hoping for help from mother nature.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. I wish we could send you some of our rain.

We've had a pretty quiet fire season up here so far because we had record snowfall and a particularly wet spring. In past years we've lost millions of acres because of fires in spruce bark beetle infested forests. I assume spruce bark beetles are cousins to your pine beetles.

[malaise]

7. Fiew the fire fighters

says Rmoney!