Is Global Warming Fueling Western Wildfires?

ABC News ^ | June 21, 2006 | BILL BLAKEMORE

[palmer]

...

Many scientists say that these fires fit exactly into the pattern predicted for global warming and that it's likely to get, on average, even drier and hotter.

...

Scientists report that global warming means mountains lose winter snowpack weeks ahead of time, from the Himalayas to California Sierras.

...

[palmer]

http://www.skimountaineer.com/CascadeSki/ParadiseCraterLakeSnow.php is an unbiased site where you can click in the season and see how fast the snowpack melted. In my clicking I see no difference in how fast the snowpack has melted from decade to decade.

On the other point, scientists have no clue if it will be drier or wetter since they don't adequately model the weather in their climate models. The only certainties are it will be a little wetter on average (not drier). It is possible that the humidity will be more variable in a warmer climate but that will cause global cooling.

[TommyDale]

More like hot air from ABC News. Who comes up with this crap?
Blame it on the Enviro-Wackos, who prevented controlled burns for years.

[The South Texan]

Forest Gump's mother is proving the media to be what they are. Stupid is as stupid does.

Good Fricking grief!!!!

[Holicheese]

Wasn't the Siera Mountains have more snow and was open longer this year than in decades? That was also blamed on Global Warming. These guys are abunch of jackholes.

[SF Republican]

I live near the beach in San Francisco, should be foggy now but temps are up and it has felt like San Diego for a month - global warming, I love it.

[rightinthemiddle]

No.

[Doogle]

[conservative in nyc]

20-foot walls of snow block some Sierra roads

Tom Stienstra

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Road crews are punching holes through walls of snow as high as 20 feet on the crest of the Sierra Nevada in the mission to open trans-Sierra highways for Memorial Day weekend.

Chances are good that Highway 108 at Sonora Pass will open by Friday, according to Caltrans, with decent prospects that Highway 4 will open through Ebbetts Pass.

"We're pretty encouraged about Sonora Pass by the weekend," said Troy Bowers of Caltrans. "Ebbetts Pass has some challenges yet. We're not sure yet we'll have it open. I was up there and there's still a lot of snow, especially from the 8,000-foot level and up. Banks can be 20 feet high. It's an awesome sight."

In Yosemite National Park, snow-clearing crews reached Glacier Point on Thursday and are removing boulders and small trees, filling potholes and clearing parking lots. The park service hopes to open the road to this spectacular lookout by mid-week, well in time for the holiday weekend.

Several other roads have no chance of opening by Memorial Day.

In the Yosemite high country, crews have cleared 23 miles from Crane Flat toward Tioga Pass on Highway 120. That's halfway to the crest. According to Calvin Liu in Yosemite, trees buried in eight feet of snow have occasionally slowed progress.

In addition, Highway 140 into the park remains closed east of Mariposa because of multiple rock slides. Barring any new slides, the road is scheduled to be reopened before Friday.

At Lassen Volcanic National Park, the Main Park Road/Highway 89 is still buried deep for miles. The road will not be opened until mid-July, according to one park staff projection.

--Snip--

Happy global warming!

[edcoil]

"Himalayas to California Sierras."

According to yesterdays new, we in California have too much water and the reserves are topped and half thte snow pack has not yet melted.

[Publius6961]

Is Global Warming Fueling Western Wildfires?

If you're ignorant, uneducated, self-absorbed and on drugs, the answer is an emphatic "Yes!". If you're a mentally healthy educated adult, dimly aware of world events, the answer is "Oh?"

The beauty of the debate as far as the neurotic losers are concerned is that anything that happens would fit the "Many scientists say that these fires fit exactly into the pattern predicted for global warming..."
How the hell can you argue with that?

And, again, I did not fail to note the "many scientists" meaningless phrase again.

[palmer]

No?

[Holicheese]

"Its all part of global warming." hippie guy at McSwiggins in Salem MA.

"So what would be proff of Global Cooling?" Me sitting next to him, trying not to breath through my nose.

[rightinthemiddle]

Is Global Warming Fueling Western Wildfires?

No.


:-)

[palmer]

Sorry, I didn't read the title.

[Uncle Miltie]

There has been a dramatic decrease in Western Wildfires since Europeans arrived. The indians used to burn the forests to flush out the game.

[PeteB570]

No mention of how man has failed to burn off or clear underbrush that has been stacking up for years.

No mention of man pushing into areas where it is hard to fight fires.

The only mention of man was "GLOBAL WARMING".

Typical unbiased MSN report.

[A message]

I live near the beach in San Francisco, should be foggy now but temps are up and it has felt like San Diego for a month - global warming, I love it.

That's funny, one of my customers has his business on Ocean Ave and he is from San Diego. I saw him two weeks ago and he said he had to leave and get a few days in San Diego because he was hating the weather in SF.

[hinckley buzzard]

Many scientists say that these fires fit exactly into the pattern predicted for global warming and that it's likely to get, on average, even drier and hotter.

Too bad none of the "scientists" know anything about the historical role of wildfires in the ecology of the West. It evolved from antiquity to incorporate and adapt to massive regular fires. The anti-logger-wackoes have done more harm to the western lands than fire has.

[YOUGOTIT]

How come it was much warmer 1000 to 2000 years ago than now? Did the SUVs really run around that much then?

[palmer]

That's a good point. The fires fit the pattern of suppressing fires, allowing urbanization and flammable weed infiltration, and disallowing logging (clear cutting).