THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28. 2013
NATURAL DISASTERS
PAGE 3
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Record wildfires continue in Southwest
Firefighters walk along state Highway 120 as firefighters continue to battle the Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Sunday. Fire crews are clearing brush and setting sprinklers to protect two groves of giant sequoias as a massive week-old wildfire rages along the remote northwest edge of Yosemite National Park.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Unnaturally long intervals between wildfires and years of drought primed the Sierra Nevada for the explosive conflagration chewing up the rugged landscape on the edge of Yosemite National Park, forestry experts say.
The fire ravaged 282 square miles by Tuesday, the biggest in the Sierra's recorded history and one of the largest on record in California.
Containment increased to
20 percent, but the number of destroyed structures rose to 101 and some 4,500 structures remained threatened. The types of lost buildings were not specified. Firefighters were making stands at Tuolumne City and other mountain communities.
The blaze was just 40 acres when it was discovered near a road in Stanislaus National Forest on Aug. 17, but firefighters had no chance of stopping it in the early days.
Fuelled by thick forest floor vegetation in steep river canyons, it exploded to 10,000 acres 36 hours
later, then to 54,000 acres and 105,620 acres within the next two days. On its 11th day it surpassed 179,400 acres, becoming the seventh-largest California wildfire in records dating to 1932.
Federal forest ecologists say that historic policies of fire suppression to protect Sierra timber interests left a century's worth of fuel in the fire's path.
areas that had burned in the past two decades, and Safford says that shows the utility of prescribed and natural burns that clear brush and allow wildfires to move rapidly without killing trees.
"That's called made the wood pile bigger," said Hugh Safford, an ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service in California.
Two years of drought and a
"If you look at the Sierra Nevada as a whole, by far the largest portion hasn't seen a fire since the 1910s and 1920s, which is very unnatural," said Safford, who authored several papers on the increasing wildlife severity across California's mountain ranges. "This one isn't stopping for a while."
constant slow warming across the Sierra Nevada also worked to turn the Rim Fire into an inferno. For years forest ecologists have warned that Western wildfires will only get worse.
"Every year the summer temperatures are a little warmer, hence the conditions for burning are a little more auspicious," said Safford. "People can deny it all they want but it's happening. Every year the fuels are a little bit drier."
The Rim Fire's exponential growth slowed only after hitting
Friday is a big day for Add/Drop. It is the last day to add or change sections online, last day to enroll online and last day for a 90 percent
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POLICE REPORTS
Information based on the Douglas County Sheriff's Office booking recap.
- A 27-year-old male was arrested yesterday on the 800 block of 9th Street on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, refusing test and no proof of liability insurance. A $1,000 bond was paid.
- A 38-year-old female was arrested Monday on the 400 block of Michigan Street on suspicion of intoxicated pedestrian in the roadway. A $100 bond was paid.
- A 24-year-old male was arrested Monday on the 1000 block of Alabama Street on suspicion of domestic battery. No bond was posted.
Emily Donovan
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