What do the Forest Services own fire experts say?
Denny Truesdale, Assistant Director, USDA Forest Service, Fire Specialist, Washington, D.C., stated, “What is needed [to address the fuels loading problem] is to take care of the underbrush and dry twigs. The majority of the material that we need to take out is not commercial timber. It is up to 3 and 4 inches in diameter.” Jack Cohen, research scientist at the Fire Sciences Laboratory in the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station, stated, “Home ignitability, rather than wildland fuels, is the principal cause of home losses during wildland/urban interface fires. Key items are flammable roofing materials and the presence of burnable vegetation immediately adjacent to homes. ” Intense flame fronts (e.g. crown fires) will not ignite wooden walls at distances greater than 40 meters (approx.130 feet).” Tom Atzet – Forest Ecologist for the Siskiyou National Forest notes, ” Ecosystems are driven by fire – fire is an important ecosystem process [to maintain] Don’t exchange fire with
