Paul Knowles, ABCFP president, wants to see regional and federal policy changes that would allow small fires to burn themselves out naturally and help maintain strong woodlands by burning up debris, thinning underbrush and reducing insect numbers.
“Our policy of putting out most forest fires over the last 80 years has contributed to… a build-up of fuel to feed fires,” said Mr Knowles. “The public must accept that forest fires are naturally-occuring and necessary for the health of some forests.”
The issue of forest fires has been brought in to focus in recent weeks, with the Georgia Forestry Commission stating that US$48m of timber has been lost to wildfires and a recent blaze near Lake Tahoe, California destroyed more than 3,000 acres of forest.
