Yeegads.
The serial regurgitation in media is impressive. Here’s the money quote:
And the new research dispels the notion that beetle-killed trees present no greater fire danger than live ones, a theory that had gained traction after a couple of wet, cool summers tamped down fire activity in the region, Jolly said. On the contrary, beetle-killed trees can hold 10 times less moisture than live trees, Jolly found. That means they not only ignite more quickly than live trees, but they burn more intensely and carry embers farther than live trees, Jolly said.
I’m not trying to make fun of the pine beetle threat, which is serious, but it seems pretty darned obvious to anyone who has ever has a Christmas tree or seen one of those fire department Christmas tree videos that brown dead pine trees burn quite a bit faster than green ones.
While a model for such a thing in wildlands might be useful, it would seem an almost impossible fire to fight.
Dead pine trees, whether beetle killed or by something else, burn much faster than live ones. On the plus side the article does not mention climate change or global warming.
Full AP story here h/t to reader Steve Keohane
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will wonders never cease…………….
Did anyone think they would live long enough to see science advance this far?
One man’s climate science is another man’s blinding flash of the obvious.
Obvious really. It’s why I dry logs for at least two years before feeding them to the wood-burner. And I worked it out for myself without a big grant from the taxpayer.
The utility of the model lies in being able to estimate the rate of fire spread. You don’t want to drop your fire jumpers somewhere under the impression they have “x” hours to work on a fire break and then bug out and suddenly find it’s “x/2” or “x/4” and no matter how fast they move they can’t reach the ridgeline, creek, pond, lake, or other area of refuge ahead of the fire.
Hahaha…don’t any of these people have fireplaces? Or common sense for that matter? Those are not trick questions.
lol, well, thank goodness we’ve got some real scientists at work here, else we’d have never figured out that dead pine trees carry as significant fire risk…….. I should be thankful though, at least they’re stating something factual.
No DUH!! I wonder how much money they recieved to come up with this?
Anybody with common sense knows this.
How many millions did it take to “discover” this!?
They seem to have overlooked the more important question.
Do pine beetles’ depredations affect the daefecatory habits of the species Ursidae?
Monty Python – “I have a theory”:
We burn fire wood for heat here. We let the wood dry for a year after cutting. Do you think we should submit this finding to Nature?
What we really must do is find the official quotes that say that pine beetle killed stands are no more of a wildfire hazard than green trees.
I have heard rumors of such statements from Forest Service and Dept of Interior people who discount the need for agressive logging of the killed stands. But I have no links to such statements or arguments.
One of many hill sides of killed lodgepole forests:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/25321843 – Looking East from Silverthorn, CO, Aug. 2009
Nit-picking: how can this absurdity exist – ¨…can hold 10 times less moisture than…¨!
Why the extra words? the tortured construction? What is wrong with, ´one-tenth the moisture?´ Even ´an order of magnitude drier than?´
Does this mean seasoned firewood will burn better than fresh cut green wood?
DUH !
What ever happened to “common sense” with these guys ?
Even less sense comes from those who approve the funding for these “studies”.
I have one:
Will honey melt faster in hot tea or iced tea ?
That should be good for some bucks.
I’ll use GREEN TEA. That should qualify.
And the new research dispels the notion that beetle-killed trees present no greater fire danger than live ones, a theory that had gained traction after a couple of wet, cool summers tamped down fire activity in the region, Jolly said.
who is saying this? i’ve never heard it….
what i have heard is that the enviros try to prevent the logging and removal of these dead trees despite the increased fire danger…
This goes a long way toward explaining why I’ve had such little success with my backyard flamethrower consisting of a lighter and my garden hose.
What I’d like to know is who came up with “…the notion that beetle-killed trees present no greater fire danger than live ones….”, in the first place.
That guy needs some serious scoffing more than Mr. Jolly does.
I was at the office and could not stop myself from bursting out laughing!!!
Seeptown said at 8:35 am
…… And I worked it out for myself without a big grant from the taxpayer.
See, there’s your problem. 🙂 That’s why you’ll never be a “researcher”!!
It’s NOT what you know, it’s how good you are at “identifying” a problem and getting money to study the problem. And to be recognized as a really GREAT researcher you don’t even have to solve the problem. Just do a stellar study and report.
Oh, and if you throw in a little theory on how it effects Localized Climate Disruption — and the children in Africa, you might be put up for a Nobel.
I also have several theories! Might write some papers regarding:
1-Humid rainforests burn slower that mediterranean forests
2-Forests burn faster in Summer than in Spring
3-Forests burn slower in Spring than in Summer (same as before, but who would notice?)
4-Forests burn slower a week after a preceding fire
Duh!
Ecotretas
maybe they should have spent the money to study a way to kill off the beetles …
Fire fighters study the nature of fires in all flammable materials all the time. Just seems prudent to me. The firefighters who do not concern themselves with fire behavior prediction are known as dead heroes. We here in Montana have had enough of those. Go read the quotes from the USFS again with this understanding. All these fatuous statements about firewood don’t have a damn thing to do with staying alive in an exploding forest fire.
Has the pine beetle increase been associated with global warming? You bet. Google “pine beetles global warming”.
My son and I would let our Christmas tree dry for at least a month or two before we torched it outside-
Amazing results!
Don’t have video, but really fun to watch on a foggy night!
They needed a study for this? Seriously?
Jolly good science. Obviously.