CheeLinks       Search       All Topics       The World             Next       Previous       Expand Subtopics

Topics:
Areas Cleared of Mature Trees Tend to Fill with More Flammable Plants

fire scientist Kelly Close on FEMA inviting flammable brush

doc-titleFire Behavior Commentary [on FEMA's East Bay Hills DEIS]
quoteIn my opinion, that without further long-term maintenance that includes extensive planting of other species, the proposed actions will not differentially favor native species, but will simply favor invasive, highly flammable brush species, both native and non-native, leading to dangerous, intense, and destructive wildfires. ... Removing all eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and acacia trees will be a severe site disturbance. Such catastrophic site disturbances do not differentially favor less invasive native species, but rather favor more invasive species (Kerns, 2005; Owen, 2010).
sourcefire behavior analyst Kelly Close on the FEMA plan (PDF)