The blaze threatening Yosemite shows just how foolish lawmakers were to include the U.S. Forest Service's firefighting budget in budget cuts.
Even as the Rim fire in and around Yosemite National Park rages on, the U.S. Forest Service already has exhausted its firefighting budget for the year, which had been reduced by sequestration cuts. Not that the agency will stop fighting wildfires, but overtime and hiring will be trimmed. This isn't a sane fire policy for an era of climate change, which is predicted to cause drier conditions in the Western United States and already has expanded the length of the fire season.
via L.A. Times - Science http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/dMoodpcd5zU/la-ed-yosemite-rim-fire-20130827,0,3341200.story
Even as the Rim fire in and around Yosemite National Park rages on, the U.S. Forest Service already has exhausted its firefighting budget for the year, which had been reduced by sequestration cuts. Not that the agency will stop fighting wildfires, but overtime and hiring will be trimmed. This isn't a sane fire policy for an era of climate change, which is predicted to cause drier conditions in the Western United States and already has expanded the length of the fire season.
via L.A. Times - Science http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/dMoodpcd5zU/la-ed-yosemite-rim-fire-20130827,0,3341200.story
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