On this edition of Your Call, we’re discussing the factors that are contributing to wildfires across the West. More than five million acres have already burned in California, Oregon and Washington.
According to the Los Angeles Times, fires are burning more populated areas and damage is increasing.Fire officials blame everything from lightning storms, development in fire prone areas, land management, fire suppression, and climate change. Prior to the colonization of the West, Indigenous tribes burned more than four million acres a year. What will it take to change the way fires are managed in the coming years?
Guests:
Don Hankins, pyrogeographer, professor of Geography & Planning at California State University at Chico, and Plains Miwok fire expert
Dr. Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics & Ecology, former wildland firefighter for the US Forest Service and National Park Service, and a certified senior wildland fire ecologist
Web Resources:
The Los Angeles Times, Priya Krishnakumar and Swetha Kannan: The worst fire season ever. Again.
Cap Radio,Ezra David Romero: The Racist Removal Of Native Americans In California Is Often Missing From Wildfire Discussions, Experts Say
The Guardian, Bill Tripp: Our land was taken. But we still hold the knowledge of how to stop mega-fires
The Nib, Xulin Wang: Prescribed Burn
The Conversation: The world's best fire management system is in northern Australia
