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Increasing Forest Fires
Tue Nov 25, 2003
Listen in RealAudio 
Hi, I’m Bryan Yeaton with The Weather Notebook’s weekly story about Global Climate Change. As
the earth's temperatures continue to rise, scientists say wildfires will become an increasing
problem. Government planners are already looking ahead, as Jeff Rice reports from Boise,
Idaho.
In recent years, debates over wildfire management, from the wisdom of
prescribed burns to logging practices, have heated up.
President Bush: "And it's a crying shame, when a forest like this burns, we've got to do a
better job".
But behind the scenes, away from the headlines, forest managers have a concern that could
trump all others. Global warming.
BC: Climate is huge. I mean climate, if it turned in the wrong direction, could easily
override any forestry practices that you did.
Bob Clark is the manager of the federal joint fire science program in Boise.
He says warming climates of even a degree or two mean drier, more flammable forests. And
that's just the beginning.
BC: There are hundreds of scenarios. Possibly more lightning, more sources of ignition. In
the future, we could have different plant communities that are more flammable. We could have
conditions under which they would burn more readily. All of which could lead to a greater fire
workload.
Clark says it's an equation for disaster if federal agencies aren't prepared.
BC: Unless we understand future climates, we will not be able to plan and budget for them.
Clark's job is to solicit scientific research that will help the government plan. Near the top
of his wish list is better climate prediction. He says knowing where potential hot spots will
be 15 or 20 years from now could be a vital tool for forest fire planners.
Jeff Rice is a regular contributor to The Weather Notebook. Our show is funded by generous
grants from Subaru of America and The National Science Foundation.
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