Manage our forests

In response to several letters that are most partisan in nature concerning our wildfires: These wildfires have been happening for years now – so much for selective outrage – regardless of who is in the White House, and if memory serves me we have had a Democrat from 2008 through 2016 and a Democratic governor of Washington far longer.

Most of these fires are now due to the mismanagement of our forests. Controlled prescribed burns, harvesting of timber will decrease the severity of these fires. Harvesting needs to be selective of overcrowded forests and beetle kill, not clear-cutting. Of course there are those who will not allow private industry to construct the necessary access roads to enable this solution.

Results are revenue received, instead of federal and state governments spending millions of dollars fighting fires. We lose the lives of citizens and firefighters, homeowners evacuate their homes and may perhaps lose them. Rehabilitation of dozer lines once the fire has been put out is costly and is not as manageable as access roads required for harvesting this renewable resource.

Let’s manage our forests utilizing all methods including stewardship contracts, rather than having them go up in flames.

Don Vicena

Spokane