Western Officials Adopt Extreme Fire Policy

             

Instead of waiting for wildfires to explode in drought-weakened forests, Western U.S. forest officials pounded small fires with extra resources in July. In an effort to prevent small blazes from turning into devastating fires, they sent additional resources to fires earlier than in years past.

“It's a mind-set change,” said Tom Beddow, deputy director of Fire and Aviation for the U.S. Forest Service's southwestern region in an AP report. “Extreme fire behavior is the norm now.”

New Mexico and Arizona, where fire danger had reached record levels, started getting additional resources in May. Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota have added resources, including single-engine air tankers and engines. California also received extra money this year to protect the counties of San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino, which have unprecedented beetle infestations. Beetles killed tens of millions of trees in drought-stricken forests across the West.

Larry Helmerick, a spokesman for the Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center, said the concentrated attacks were paying off. As of mid-July, Colorado had avoided the large wildfires experienced in 2000 and 2002.

States that were having better luck at keeping small blazes in check were sending firefighters and other resources to states battling the toughest fire seasons, such as Alaska, which was reported to be suffering its fourth-worst fire season since the 1950s.