Forest Service chief to Congress: Climate change is responsible for these wildfires, you know

Hot Air ^ | June 5, 2013 | ERIKA JOHNSEN

[Hojczyk]

Oh, good grief. At a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, U.S. Forest Service chief Thomas Tidwell informed Congress that the budget cuts being handed down via the sequester are coming at an especially opportune time because 2013 is going to be a horrible season of ever more explosive wildfires. The culprit behind these vicious fires, you might ask? Well, according to Mr. Tidwell:

America’s wildfire season lasts two months longer than it did 40 years ago and burns up twice as much land as it did in those earlier days because of the hotter, drier conditions produced by climate change, the country’s forest service chief told Congress on Tuesday.

“Hotter, drier, a longer fire season, and lot more homes that we have to deal with,” Tidwell told the Guardian following his appearance. “We are going to continue to have large wildfires.” …

Climate change was a key driver of those bigger, more explosive fires. Earlier snow-melt, higher temperatures and drought created optimum fire conditions. …

“This is a product of having a longer fire season, and having hotter, drier conditions so that the fuels dry out faster. So when we get a start that escapes initial attack, these fires become explosive in that they become so large so fast that it really limits our ability to do anything.” …

While environmentalist groups continue to clamor for more big government as the supposed solution to environmental problems, the federal government has managed to orchestrate a century of awful policy that has turned America’s public lands into increasingly dry fuel — and yet bureaucrats so often manage to overlook that fact when they are hurrying to pin our heightened fire-risk problems entirely on the politically convenient excuse of climate change.

[Paladin2]

Can’t those retards just get rid of the MJ grow areas under their control?

[mountainlion]

Poor forest management is also responsible for the Rocky Mountain Pine beetle outbreak and high fire danger.

[Hojczyk]

Millions of acres are covered with dead trees...the bark beetle...the forest service decided years ago to do nothing...so it will all burn up..no logging ... equals no roads.. private forest lands have been logged and reforested..

[molson209]

so it’s not , Oxygen + heat + fuel in a chain reaction

[Da Coyote]

Bull Obama.

[FlingWingFlyer]

I wonder who put out all the fires on the planet before we had little Tommy Tidwells running around in their forest ranger suits. No. I’ve never seen a brontosaurus pee.

[Venturer]

40 years ago they had logging roads and they cut timber and had a decent Fire service., Now they cut the Fire Planes . let the bush’s grow, and wonder why they have more fires.

By the way this has been the coldest spring and summer in my memory and I am 70.

[BitWielder1]

The problem is the lefts aversion to logging.
No logging and no forest management to speak of means lots of dry undergrowth. Our forests are turning into impenetrable tinder boxes.
Enviros are screaming for renewable fuels. Guess what: wood is one.
They love trees. So do I, but I know trees are PLANTS.
Plants are meant to be eaten, like a carrot, or used for building material or fuel. Not wasted, but used appropriately.
Cut down a tree and 40 years later (+/- depending on latitude) there is another tree ready to cut down.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Forest Dis-Service is probably more correct.

[Lera]

Climate change was a key driver of those bigger, more explosive fires.

This is a total lie. These "bigger more explosive fires" are due to one thing and one thing only ----> forestry management who purposely promote the passing of regulations that increase the amount of fuel for those fires.

You pass enough laws that make it illegal to remove fallen branches and prevent the thinning out of trees and nature will do it for you via a strike of lightning.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Hey no worries. Obama cut funding for the firefighting planes so no fire retardant to drop.

Funny thing about all this is the same people who talk about conservation and activism are the same people whose houses are burning to the ground.

[Doc91678]

Want to put teenagers to work? Pay them minimum wage and get then to clean up forests and build fire breaks in areas that are fire prone. FDR had the CCC camps remember? Where’s Obama?

[Doc91678]

Want to put teenagers to work? Pay them minimum wage and get then to clean up forests and build fire breaks in areas that are fire prone. FDR had the CCC camps remember? Where’s Obama?

[Paladin2]

"... let the bush’s grow..."

Let me be the first to observe;

W's fault.

[kinsman redeemer]

Book Marked for later reading.

[tiki]

Environmentalists are responsible for wildfires. It is their policies that have created over-populated forests with over-grown underbrush.

[DoughtyOne]

And I had a blemish break out yesterday. Oh the humanities...

This global worming, will it never end?

[goodnesswins]

I’d like to have those companies selling t-paper stop producing...saying....without logging, no t-paper....

[BitWielder1]

... without logging, no t-paper

Don't joke about that. One day we'll be limited to one sheet or forced to use re-usable rags or some such.