Photo:  Forested mountain, DIxville Notch, New Hampshire. LM photo.

The New John Batchelor Show
CBS Audio Network
@Batchelorshow

 
https://www.perc.org/2021/04/12/fix-americas-forests-reforms-to-restore-national-forests-and-tackle-the-wildfire-crisis/


In 2020, the largest wildfire in California history scorched six counties in the northern part of the state. The August Complex Fire burned more than one million acres across three national forests and destroyed hundreds of structures. But devastating fires are not limited to California. Across the West, more than 10 million acres burned in 2020—a record in modern history. These fires consumed more than 17,500 structures and more than $3.5 billion in firefighting costs.Tragically, dozens of lives were lost, and many more people were displaced by evacuation orders. Fires released smoke that degraded air quality nearby and hundreds of miles away. They also destroyed wildlife habitat, including for imperiled species, and the fires’ aftereffects will soon lead to erosion that harms water quality in local watersheds.