Wildfire and the Environment

[nhravlal]

Hi all, I'm writing a college research paper on wildfires and their effect on the environment, and the resulting effect on the economy. Topics I plan to wre about include the effect on lumber markets, the ecology of a forest, financial effects on FDs, etc. The paper is basically mine to create - I just have to find good sources to get my information about. If anybody has something that might help me, would you mind posting it or PMing me? Any help would be appreciated.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

The 2003 fire season was devastating in British Columbia. It may have all the elements you are looking for, as homes and businesses were lost, hundreds of millions of dollars in losses and expenses, tourism industry hard hit, Louis Creek lost it's mill and so on. Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but I thought I'd throw it out there and if you want to research it, great.

Keywords I used McClure/Barriere, Louis Creek, Kelowna, Okanagan, 2003 BC fire season ....

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/education/spotlight/issue_40/industry-impact.html


Impact on BC Forestry Industry

One of the immediate consequences of British Columbia's severe fire season is the negative impact on the provinces forest industry, which is still dealing with the US-Canada softwood lumber dispute.

Lost Timber Stocks

Early estimates of timber stock losses are as follows:

* 57 million cubic metres of timber
* 14 billion board feet of lumber
* $5.6-billion value of lumber (75 per cent equivalent of Canada’s total U.S. softwood exports last year)
[Source: Council of Forest Industries]

Costs of Fires to Province

In addition to the estimated $500 million price tag for fighting the fires, the BC government may be facing other long-term costs. To replace the lost timber, the major reforestation effort could cost the province $100 million. In addition, some industry officials believe that the fires will have an adverse impact on the province’s annual harvest, which in turn may negatively impact the stumpage fees forestry companies pay the provincial government to harvest wood on Crown land.

Cost to Forestry Companies

Forestry companies that have licenses to harvest timber destroyed by the forest fires will face some losses, including shut down while the fires were burning. While some timber will be salvaged, some mills will have to purchase and install special equipment to remove the charred wood from the logs and redirect worthless timber that can be used as fuel. In some areas--such as Cranbrook, where the fires were particularly intense--industry officials have high concern about the state of the lumber and whether any salvaging will be possible.

Cost to Consumers

Timber shortage fears may lead to higher consumer prices. In late August, the price of spruce-pine-fir construction lumber rose from $308 to $364 (U.S.) for 1,000 board feet. Prices have also been driven higher by forest fires in the US northwest, as well as lower production in Eastern Canada. Any jump in the price of lumber will cause higher prices for wood products, such as a house.

Google is your friend :D I found a ton of links. I'm sure you can find a lot more, especially forest industry related, by refining your search according to your needs. I even found an article about a study on health issues experienced by residents after the fires.

[randsc]

I have a suggestion for your paper/Google search. Consider the absurdity that is MIST.

[NonSurfinCaFF]

I have a suggestion for your paper/Google search. Consider the absurdity that is MIST.

Consider the absurdity of control line scars that long outlive the fire scars. Its about using an appropriate response, you don't put in a freeway when a wetline will do, you don't use a scratchline to stop a wall of flame. Unfortunately people take things way to far in both directions.


nhravlal,

if you look around the USFS labs at San Dimas and Missoula you may find some info to get you started.

http://www.fs.fed.us/research/

[Dalmatian190]

I did have to google MIST...and this caused me a good chuckle:

Use long line remote hook in lieu of constructed helispots for delivery or
retrieval of supplies and gear. (Promote the use of llamas.)

Wonder if I could get the National Fire Llama contract :)

Most of MIST seemed reasonable -- I'm sure it's to the extent one takes it like Nonsurfin' said. Some of the stuff seems like "nice to dos" that would be fine during a slow fire time and lots of o/t left in the budget.

[randsc]

I did have to google MIST...and this caused me a good chuckle:

Use long line remote hook in lieu of constructed helispots for delivery or
retrieval of supplies and gear. (Promote the use of llamas.)

Wonder if I could get the National Fire Llama contract :)

Most of MIST seemed reasonable -- I'm sure it's to the extent one takes it like Nonsurfin' said. Some of the stuff seems like "nice to dos" that would be fine during a slow fire time and lots of o/t left in the budget.

One of the fun things about MIST is when they show the intro video in a wildland class. You have these kids who have just spent 24 hours learning how to do things a certain way or they'll die, then you pop in a vid that tells them to do everything differently than the way they just learned.

And I especially love the idea that we should not use chainsaws, but instead should "consider explosives" Consider explosives?!? Sure, why not? You can have 4 sawyer teams operating their saws flat out for a full shift and only spend maybe, what, $30 on gas? But now you need to "consider explosives? Sure, as long as someone else "considers paying for explosives".

[randsc]

Consider the absurdity of control line scars that long outlive the fire scars. Its about using an appropriate response, you don't put in a freeway when a wetline will do, you don't use a scratchline to stop a wall of flame. Unfortunately people take things way to far in both directions.


nhravlal,

if you look around the USFS labs at San Dimas and Missoula you may find some info to get you started.

http://www.fs.fed.us/research/

I understand what you're saying, and of course I don't disagree. I do think that MIST is a bit niaive.

[ramseycl]

MIST has its place, as does every other practice out there. It doesn't help anyone to stop the fire, when you destroy a wetland or other natual resource that you can not replace.
People sometimes take it oo far. What people need to think about, is doing the minimum to accomplish the given task. You don't need a dozer line that you could land a jet on for a grass fire. :confused: