Why wildfires have gotten worse -- and what we can do about it | Paul Hessburg

Megafires, individual fires that burn more than 100,000 acres, are on the rise in the western United States -- the direct result of unintentional yet massive changes we've brought to the forests through a century of misguided management. What steps can we take to avoid further destruction? Forest ecologist Paul Hessburg confronts some tough truths about wildfires and details how we can help restore the natural balance of the landscape.
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[@ljprep6250]

Outstanding talk, Paul. Why didn't this go viral back in 2017? I'll try to help today, Jan 2019.

[@nebur727]

2021 and is not viral

[@kristintheartist]

What happens when politicians think they know everything and don’t bother listening to experts.

[@jakewhite6447]

Trump wants us to start raking the forest floor

[@alexsandrarokas7117]

@@jakewhite6447 Isn't he stupid. First of all forests cannot thrive if the forest floor is scraped off. It is nourishment for future flora. It has to stay there. What people must learn is they live in an area that will continue to burn forever as that is its nature. Forests burn for the reason of renewal. What people also need to learn is not to overpopulate and acquire a higher education.

[@sophiee_ann]

don’t worry “it’ll get cooler, you watch” 😀

[@worldsnetizen2035]

Can't agree with you more.

[@n00btotale]

​@Edgar G. You can't explain an exceptional result with a variable kept constant.

[@bob_frazier]

I wish he could have supplied just a few good pictures of what an extreme fuel load looks like here in the west. Most peole would be shocked. I've seen places (Near Bend Oregon) four and five feet deep in crisscrossed dead trees - fires in that heavy fuel are unstoppable, and the only question is whether they will burn when it is hot and dry or when we do so at a time of our choosing.

[@BellalisDope]

California has plenty of those as well. We are all screwed.

[@brendarua01]

This is a lovely and important presentation. I was lucky enough to hike virgin old growth wilderness in Oregon and Washington states. This was much like he shows. This summer we in the Pacific NW had almost a solid month of smoke due to forest fires in Canada and the Columbia gorge. It was a health hazard and the ash caused damage. You could look directly at the rising and setting sun, when you could see it.

[@TempRawr]

Yeah even in the last 20 years of hiking in as a kid you really can notice the lost of control the forest has over it's growth. Old trails I use to be guided through as a kid as just are impossible to navigate ( I can't imagine how local animal are able to like they use to), I really do hope we heal our forest it's like we're fed the forest but didn't allow it to exercise. Looks pretty but man is it not as alive as it use to be, which I understand is also tons of other humans factors but this is one that we have so much control over and have choose to let the forest choke itself to death.

[@Foxyfreedom]

I remember that, I was living in Bellingham, the sun glowed a bright red color, the visibility was awful. Interesting how BC has so many more deadly fires and they also log way more than us. Correlation?

[@carrickbender]

And today it is as smokey as it has ever been...

[@revolutionarycomrade]

Hi from Pendleton, the smoke was even worse this year X___X

[@oceanceaser44]

Sorry about that -Candian

[@BlaineNay]

You omitted one important tool for preventing mega-fires: timber harvest. Well-managed logging mimics the small fires that once created that "patchwork" of forest mingled with grasslands and meadows.

[@Camperlife4ever]

He mentioned this at the 11:20 mark. He calls it mechanical thinning to capture some commercial benefits.

[@SBKWaffles]

That's an alternative (which I personally think is better). But it is much more innefficient in terms of time and resources. But maybe the comercial benefits could outweigh such problem... I guess we'll have to see.

[@wandayonder9772]

The trouble with commercial timber harvesting is what he showed early on, that harvesters have removed the largest trees, the old growth, which then causes much thicker regrowth of many more trees of similar age. That type of thicker forest creates a bigger fire risk, not less.

[@Camperlife4ever]

I know very little about this topic, so I am open to learn. That is where I would trust experts with the right incentives to make good decisions. Some form of government and corporation cooperation might be able to solve the problem or manage it better than what we are doing now.

[@BlaineNay]

Proper forest management is not just a one-time cutting of the largest trees. It also includes periodic thinning of the remaining trees as they grow. That process avoids the "type of thicker forest creates a bigger fire risk, not less". Foresters know that; people who think they are environmentalists do not.

[@BClocals]

It cost almost $500 million in BC to extinguish the wildfires this year. How much would it cost for preventative measures for control burns and forest management ? This was very informative and should be shared. The smoke and fires were the worst I've ever seen in my life time in BC. So many fires were started do to lighting strikes, but also ATV"s and dirt bikes and campers leaving fire pits during the first week of July created more problems throughout BC.

[@tyreza79]

It would cost nothing if only they stop using directed energy weapons!!! But " they use repeatedly= create problem make people suffer and panic and propose aganda21 solution", to control the world in a certain direction!.. And that technique is used on a multidimensionality of levels!!!

[@ZackScriven]

It’s like 100x cheaper

[@juliaweber212]

I agree

[@brianbishoff194]

Best short presentation of this subject I have ever seen. May it's wisdom be shared widely! 🏡🏞️

[@sierrafoxtrotgolf3638]

Minnesota used to have Fire Roads in dense forests. In the 80s the USFS changed the designation from Fire Roads to Forest Roads. Then as part of the plan, radical environmentalists in the USFS moved to close the "Forest Roads" to reduce human intrusion into the woods. The Fire Roads, now Forest Roads were allowed to grow over and makes accessing and controlling fires more difficult.

[@ThomasNing]

hazard reduction burning is one of the most important practices in Australia, especially because of the native flora and fauna which evolved around fires. It's benefits are also taught in primary school, as well as how the indigenous people who also undertook controlled burnings, so the social understanding of its benefits are generally pretty good.

[@josephj1973]

I appreciate this video. I wanted to know why so many wildfires are occurring right now (in Manitiba and Ontario, Canada).

[@davidjohnson8655]

I mean California Oregon Washington and BC went on a pollical rampage against local loggers, claiming we needed the trees for oxygen. This is back when it was common knowledge that the Amazon forest were the lungs of the Earth, except they aren't. Even Manitoba has had wildfires every year, if you look it up on YT you'll see the same apocalyptical reports 3 years ago. What he is talking about we've known for decades, but the "green" movement is too powerful.

[@juliaweber212]

I agree

[@jessewhitt6224]

@@juliaweber212 everything he said in the video is still applicable today

[@LLLL666]

Because of man made weather by HARPP and chemtrails.

[@user-dc8cz2ld9v]

This is an angle I never thought of before. I thought it was amazing that forests were developing. Dude only nature can take care of itself. The more order you put in triple that and you'll get how much chaos will come out. #fightfirewithfire

[@mrnicomedes]

I would like to give a comment of support that, in this case, is not for the message (which I agree with), but for the speaker. It takes guts to give a TED talk, and to stand up there, with no podium, while needing/wanting cards, could really give someone the jitters come talk-time. Instead, Paul delivered with the quiet confidence of someone who knew the talk - content both visual and verbal - spoke volumes in its ~15 min. Thanks for the great TED Talk, Paul. Please give us another!

[@jamesonvazquez8510]

It’s disappointing to see that only 200k people have seen this, if people understood forests better, they wouldn’t be blaming them on global warming

[@juliaweber212]

I agree

[@shouston9079]

Global warming was a part of the puzzle covered between minutes 9 and 11. This is a complex issue with many contributing factors which were eloquently summarized in this TED talk.

[@blameitonben]

Sitting here in Eugene, with AQI hovering between 400-500 and multiple mega fires raging across the state. I don't know how much of the fire to blame on nature (these are wet forests, that had a drought and a crazy wind storm), vs. climate change vs. poor forest management. In any case, we need to manage our forests better or the new natural state of things will manage them for us.

[@dzelpwr]

I was in Oregon for a visit when those fires went crazy. Strong offshore wind events like that have become very common in California, it was wild to see one so strong in Oregon. I've just started calling it "fire weather" here in California. These wind events drive the fires much further and faster than ever before, especially since it's bringing extreme high temperatures and low humidities with it. At the same time, I would argue it's a disservice to bellow about climate change when it's not near as realistic to try and reverse climate change's effects as it is to manage the forest better and try and prevent things like downed powerlines from sparking unexpected fires during high wind events. We can do something about forest management and shoring up infrastructure NOW, whereas even if everyone were to stop driving cars and stop industrial activity altogether today, climate change could take a century or more to reverse course to make a dent in the wind events and high temperatures that are driving these fires to more extremes... We should still do something about climate change, but at the same time I don't think anyone in their right mind wants to halt industrial activity altogether and thus removing many of the modern conveniences we currently enjoy, therefore for the time being, the weather will just become the new normal and we will have to adapt. And literally the only realistic thing we can do is prevent unexpected ignitions and manage the forests better, now that we have solid observations and science to back up why what we have done in the last century has made things worse.

[@blameitonben]

@@dzelpwr Seriously, if you ask a scientist what does fighting climate change really mean, it really means best case scenario the warming continues at a lesser amount. So regardless of whether you believe in climate change or not, forest management is a realistic short and long term thing we need invest in. If we don't manage the forests, they're going to manage us!!!!

[@dzelpwr]

@@blameitonben Fully agree!

[@philipbuckley759]

sounds like someone needs to write a book....

[@SusansEasyRecipes]

Truly sad story and future. Thanks for mentioning this important topic

[@markevans1618]

this is so underatted..

[@Zepherian]

Fight fire with fire...

[@PresidentialWinner]

Literally the only time i have heard it used the right way! Bravo!

[@AceKylar]

#Metallica

[@maryroseestigoy8081]

This is needed atm.

[@paetonlaur3655]

We seriously screwed up our mountain forests; you can see the evidence of this in California, Washington, and Oregon in 2020. The skies there look like something out of a horror film because we are not managing our forests correctly. We need to do something about this before it becomes larger problem than it already is because those mega-fires are causing problems in southwestern Canada as well.

[@Lildizzle420]

we keep "managing" the forests, until there are none. apparently the solution to forest fires is to just get rid of all forests

[@paetonlaur3655]

@@Lildizzle420 It definitely seems that way. Our climate is starting to become unsuitable for forests because of the climates are becoming drier and much more extreme.

[@bob_frazier]

More proof Paul was right, as if it were debatable at all.

[@paetonlaur3655]

@@johnperic6860 You bring up a good point. I have watched the video, but yes, I do have issues with nitpicking certain pieces of the video. To be honest with you, the internet has been home to so much drama lately that it is hard to figure out what is real and what is not real. I also would like to thank you for correcting my statement as well because I have a bad habit of saying things when I hear stuff.

[@juliaweber212]

I agree

[@goldentrout4811]

Amazing talk.

[@nev0076]

I hope everyone who listen this presentation learn something from this lesson. Take is seriously!

[@mixiaodonovan1436]

And spread the idea

[@christinarose2877]

I saw him live, and his presentation was so important! One of my favorite presentations from that day

[@CommViewer]

This more or less foretells the severity of the Camp Fire in Norcal this November...

[@starwizardmanonthestarwiza2469]

Thank you .this made a lot of sense and I feel a lot better about these fires.

[@randmorf]

Mega-fires are also partially due to drought, which are also becoming more common with global warming. So, perhaps some of the anti-desertification strategies like water retention can be employed in our forests (in addition to having "patchy forests"). I'm refering to water retention technologues like rock lines (aka rock berms), swales and water catchments. The idea is to capture or just slow the flow of water run-off from the rains so that it can be absorbed onto the soil to replenish the water table. Running cattle, goats and pigs through forestland can also be used to manage the undergrowth as well as to refertalize the forest land.

[@craignmz5264]

Eco extremists don't want to allow grazing. If we are going to fight fire in the forest then we have to manage the fuel load. Logging and grazing should be a part of that.

[@breckandy]

Finally some common sense. Appears a year too late for Paradise. I live in Colorado and we have clear cutting laws to remove trees away from houses. When we had the beetle kill they removed the dead trees and had/have controlled burns all the time in winter.

[@dannie1035]

To those who see this in 2021..... Here as I type this comment here in California we are experiencing some of the most dangerous wildfires recorded for California. All over the globe is experiencing a high amount of wildfires. For those affected past an present... My heart goes out too you. Cherish what you have. It could all be destroyed in matter of seconds. 😣😣

[@JimGriffOne]

Awesome talk by a well-researched man who didn't blame it solely on climate change. I love these in-depth talks by knowledgeable people!

[@watchthe1369]

Yes! my sentiment exactly. There are always many factors driving a result in the interconnected system that is the environment. imperfect understanding and silver bullet sloganeering are not solving anything.

[@christophercone3535]

Not solely climate change but, human activity none the less....

[@DirtRoadie]

Jim Griffiths No, not solely. @9:39. But he's acknowledging it.

[@Sovereign_Citizen_LEO]

Climate Change has absolutely zero (nothing whatsoever) to do with it.

[@dhruvsapariya2142]

Best content ever

[@tomrobertson3236]

Eastern Washington natives would burn their home area while they stayed at the neighbors . Pioneers wrote it was like a park Grass under trees , all trees had bare trunks up to 10 to 20 ft . You could easily trot your horse though them

[@celinak5062]

Tom Robertson +

[@CesarLuisAfonsoDias]

In Portugal this year, with an area like Florida, more then 100 persons died because of wildfires. Everything told in this video is related. The forest and the climate changed so much in 25 years that we are going to a dead end. Our goverment have no idea what they are doing and change the politics every year instead of going to the source of the problem. I will share your video and hope our society understand and change the focus. Because so far, every year is worst then previous year.

[@Avinashsingh7]

This man makes sense.... I think only nature can take good care of itself....

[@Lildizzle420]

this man thinks only man can take care of nature and we need to regulate every stick and twig in the forest

[@LAWrath]

@@Lildizzle420 HUH??? That is not at all what he is saying. He's saying mother nature TOOK care of itself until PEOPLE (not of the 1st nations) screwed it up, so YES it's our job to fix what we screwed up. The ONLY time he talks about regulations is to get rid of the stupid one that classifies prescribed burn smoke as an "avoidable nuisance".

[@Lildizzle420]

@@LAWrath who burned the firest before humans

[@LAWrath]

@@Lildizzle420 Lightning.

[@alexsandrarokas7117]

Yes. See what I wrote to Jake White.

[@makomal23]

How do we feel now!! 2020 west coast is on fire 🔥

[@RealityCheck6969]

Very interesting!

[@Aaren_Haines]

Is anyone else here just to complete your assignments?

[@chitra4586]

Turkey needs this now 😭

[@user-panosk98]

Greece too!!

[@RedmansWifeLady]

I agree with him about the wildfires

[@b.c.delevin4916]

My family has owned a cabin near Echo Summit CA since 1963. I sold it August 11th of 2021, and it burned down on August 29th. I was lucky to be up able to remove most of my personal items, but the area has been devastated. The Caldor Fire was predicable. The forest was not properly maintained, and the fuel load was obvious to everyone but the USFS. Sure, it’s popular to blame the local utilities, but it’s really a government and environmental failure. I watched this video when it first came out, shared it 100’s of times, and it was a significant factor to sell it last year. The public still has no clue.

[@simybentata2104]

I am a student and know very little about this, but studied that there is a great interchange of nutrients between fungi and vegetation. What if we focus on nurturing the fungi so they spread the water to the vegetation. Is this even possible?

[@4712k]

it was a really interesting video, but i keep asking my self if this happens with most of the forests or just some cases in the world. it felt like this was a very specific kind of forest, for the temperate forests, and maybe, only in USA/Canada. What about other types of vegetation ?

[@bob_frazier]

Yes, he was specifically speaking about the Pacific Northwest.

[@youcanfoolmeonce]

He didn't talk about what ignites all those fires! You can have all the fuel if you don't have ignition! How can half a dozen or more fires start at once? Downed wires, "dry lightening"? Fires start dozens of miles apart at the same time! It's a well organized disgruntled group or groups who have an agenda or interests in common, like deportation, unemployment, homelessness, maybe sleeper cells to avenge their destroyed countries. Follow the money, who benefits from these fires? Construction companies, maybe firefighting organizations? Have to create a humane society. A few evil men can destroy it.

[@Olivia-W]

I don't know, we have this giant ball of really hot plasma we call the sun beaming quite a bit of heat to our planet. Really dry wood + really hot under the sun. Hmmm... nah, has to be _le conspiraciee_

[@duradim1]

I agree with so much he said. But I think he gives too much credence to climate change. I know he barely mentioned it, but the fire season was lengthened, not because of more hotter days, but because of the condition of the forests. More fuel piled up because a lack of fires and this caused longer periods for potential fires to occur. Other than that, his presentation was spot on. Burn baby, burn.

[@jellyfish1969]

I'd like us to add to this conversation the reversal of climate change. I'm hoping we can add all of the environmentally friendly actions needed as part of the wildfire topic, why not also start with the other major cause of the problem?

[@1965Grit]

At first I thought this would be another environmentalists video, but, he is correct, Government's response has been to protect forests and grow more trees, the true solution is to have sections of healthy trees and sections of logged areas to simulate burned areas/fire breaks.

[@keyurmuliya6372]

Nice video

[@RichRich1955]

As a non-breeder I can say there's too many people. Too late now

[@ihh2921]

The people who were there before the 1800's had a lot of knowledge on how to keep fire regulated for 10 000 yeas. That knowledge still exists, tho marginal, in Australia the Aboriginals have taken this case under their belt and now operate as fire rangers controlling the burn.

[@elaineelaine5747]

I live in CA. I had a night terror about fire evacuation notice on TV. I smelled smoke and jumped out of bed and I actually saw it on TV, then I scrambled to put my glasses on and Golden Girls was on and I realized it was a night terror. It sucks to be afraid all the time because things are so out of control. We are living in the last days for sure.

[@G._-]

I would like to use this video on my website.

[@Timburgess03..]

Needed to hear this seeing how it has happen for the second time in Canada and however many times it has happen in the states. If we don’t get our stuff together in the next few years, we will be screwed for the future and our future children. 💔

[@aslaksockcraft]

Fighting fire with fire.

[@LughSummerson]

Too witty for KZbin to appreciate.

[@bjornopitz6561]

🤘🤘🤘

[@satemable]

I want this study being related to Jab Jab and Jab and Wall of course!

[@yodaddy4944]

Bring back logging except do it smarter, mix thinning with clear cut, then burn The dead fuels left behind, combine everything he's talking about except with More emphasis on logging in order to get the most economic gain. Fire or logging, either way the trees are thinned.

[@Lildizzle420]

you're degrading the soil, losing biodiversity and causing desertification. one of the leading causes of desertification is loss of plant life and this guy actually wants to burn it

[@bob_frazier]

First off, we are logging. Go open Google earth and have a look. Second, what looks natural, a thick stand of trees isn't. Third, taking out the tallest most fire resistant trees is part of the problem.

[@Lildizzle420]

@@johnperic6860 you're literally using the same circular logic, humans cut down trees and you take a picture and then say "see, this is how it looked" yes John, that's how it looked after deforestation had already occurred for 300 years or more

[@bob_frazier]

@@johnperic6860 You must not live in a house made of wood.

[@markthompson1330]

@@Lildizzle420 you have no idea about Forrest management

[@umerdurrani9405]

wow, I really liked the information and the way he presented the information. This video will be helpful in writing my Annotated bibliography. Great work.

[@Burden-THE]

Is anyone else upset that he only mentioned logging as a CAUSE of mega fires? We need to OPEN these forests for loggers to prevent fires. Also giving jobs to communities, and wealth to rural areas.

[@LindBeats]

Hello "The Burden" I think you somehow misunderstood something. It is correct that he mentioned the logging of old, tall and thick trees as a contributing cause of mega fires. But actually it's the consequent effect of the creation of big gaps that can be filled by new trees and overall creating a more even aged forest. Furthermore he explains that a dense and even aged forest is more prone to diseases resulting in a higher fuel load (fuel in this context means fuel for wildfires, so wood on the forest floor). So overall it is the human induced homogeneity of forests as well as too high fuel loads in the forest leading to mega fires.

[@O1Birddog]

so basically he's saying it's the politicians that are the cause, I agree!

[@juliaweber212]

The forest management needs more personal workers and need to get paid obviously we are not changing

[@tyreza79]

Those are not "wild" fires those are DEW FIRES!!!

[@Basuko_Smoker]

damn this got emotional

[@strangetranceoffaith]

I was hoping to live out my life before we reached the tipping point

[@seanb.6793]

Sadly, that's been the way a lot of people have lived. :(

[@LittleRadicalThinker]

The big fires reminds me the elks in the Yellowstone National park. People wanted to help the helpless elks by killing all wolves in the park, then elks destroyed their beloved forest, how ironic.

[@crispydyslexic6628]

10:17 Oh, houses still have sceletons while tree canopies are gone? What then explains just the opposite happening in the Paradise fire?

[@iamnotamushroom2880]

We are not leaving much to future generations. Unless you count chaos.

[@harrykuheim6107]

ANTIFA and BLM are Obama's Legacy

[@oceandrew]

@@harrykuheim6107 Oh Harry, you're like the guy standing next to the fire with a match still smouldering between his fingers as you accuse immigrants and people of colour for setting the fire. What a useless human being you are.

[@sweeterbright7157]

This video really ages well.

[@bob_frazier]

Absolutely prescient.

[@kenvandeburgt1232]

Pleased to see someone telling it as it is instead of blaming CO2 and global warming.

[@Brandolupa]

did you watch the video? global warming is part of it, but it isnt the sole cause

[@ksrappe2007]

Global warming is a part of the problem. A big and increasingly large share of why fires are larger and burn hotter. Foresters and scientists have found that drought and heat, together, increase the likelihood of severe forest fires. I would also disagree with this man's characterization of the photos he showed as evidence of how old forests grew. The photos are from the 1930's. Most large timber operations had already cleared out the old growth trees as early as the turn of the 20th century. So his photos show a post-timber landscape. However, he is probably right that the mantra of putting out ALL fires was, sadly, the wrong approach early in tbe US Forest Service's life. Today the US Forest Service actually sets fires as controlled burns and manages the forests much better than in the past. Yet fires have increased in number, size, and severity. Global warming is playing a huge part.

[@frantic5679]

They imported eucalyptus trees from Australia for some daft reason. Have fun decades from now when the oil in their shed leaves and branches produce enough heat to kill everything else while they survive no probs, even as saplings.

[@mclovin2408]

And now Australia has lost over 100 million acres due to the fires and nobody is freaking out about it like when the Amazon was on fire it was just a big joke at first and now everyone is starting to get nervous

[@TheLastLogicalOne]

Can the soil not support any other species that are less susceptible to burning?

[@Brandolupa]

the trees that were there are less susceptible, but through limiting the fires, we have allowed these fire prone species to come in and take over, where before they would be wiped out every decade or so. the trees that were growing there before have adaptations like thicker bark, and cones that only open AFTER a fire (the heat causes a reaction in the cones, which releases the seeds)

[@oceanthresher6184]

This video NEEDS to be shared by everyone watching it. There's only 15 thousand viewers, and it needs several million so we can get the message out.

[@bonzodog67lizardking15]

There is also those protected species idiots who insisted on a "hands-off" approach lest logging freak-out a Spotted Owl. Do they imagine wildlife flourished in these insane fires?

[@Vugen18]

Why is the answer always: BALANCE. We need to be in balance with nature not work against it. to think we have lost so much knowledge is scary compared to our behavior

[@oliviaspecht7228]

Too many happy little trees

[@a.mangla78]

pine tree are native to Australia and they are also invasive species and god know what were the native species which actually restored the ecological balance for all the centuries. In british india, they replaced the native oak tree with pine for timber and result is pine replaced very successfully and destroy almost every native species. Pine tree burns!!!

[@peterdiscipleofjesus]

This Is killing my high

[@PureSpeechfromYa]

How many Forest service employees?

[@LegendNinja41]

In Cali ? that would be me, Tim, Marta, Ronda, Eric, Wes, Damian and Liz, so 8 basically.

[@metalwheelz]

Yet another problem with current Wilderness Area regulations.

[@jayantbhatt7220]

It is destroying Nepal 😢. March, 2021

[@Arman-xv1zf]

So Fahrenheit 451 was not so far of when it said that in the future firemen will litteraly cause fires :D

[@philtripe]

finally someone who understands the history of the west and how we mismanaged our lands...the Indians had it right and knew after 10,000 years , how to manage the lands...the American Indians passed on no national debt to the children and a fertile landscape with the knowledge on how to care for it...a highly sophisticated agrarian society that Europeans saw as barbarians, well noq the true stewards are painfully clear as the European way has failed

[@yosefmacgruber1920]

But doesn't even overgrown forests, naturally burn in patchy patterns?

[@DannyDelorean]

is this ASMR?

[@stacyliddell5038]

I wonder if there is a greater volume of trees, as a result of increased CO2, which increases the amount of fuel to burn...

[@craignmz5264]

Not after the amount of fires we have been having. I would guess the pollution put out by these fires dwarfs what humans create.

[@xtremenortherner]

At 3:32, is it me or does that small microphone look like its embedded in his cheek??!

[@themoon-ig7xn]

it sure looks like that

[@nimrsawafta1682]

Come and see now

[@MuadDib1402]

Put this guy in charge of it.

[@TribalGlobe]

Forests burn much more redily when sprayed with aliminum. Also when the soils are depelated of mycillium.

[@apuapustaja1958]

wait how does fungus prevent forest fires?

[@estherstone4860]

Goats could help with the underbrush.

[@ariyazheng5146]

God bless California

[@DavidElzeitsinfill]

The wild fires are made much larger and out of controlee because everything is so dry. There isn't enough moisture in the soil, there isn't enough moisture in the vegetation. One thing we need to do is move water from the ocean back inland to places we need it. The natural water cycle can't refill aquifers that were filled thousands of years ago by melting glaciers after the last ice age. Big problems need big solutions. The biggest idea I am trying to express is tunneling aqueducts from the coast, in this case the west coast of the USA inland to feed combination geothermal power and sea water desalination plants. The idea seems to be so big that no one has considered it possible but I believe it is not only possible but it is necessary. For over a century the fossil water contained in aquifers has been pumped out to feed agriculture, industry and municipal water needs. The natural water cycle cant refill fossil water deposits that were filled 10,000 years ago when the glaciers melted after the last ice age. Without refilling these aquifers there is not much of a future for the region of the United states. As a result ground levels in some areas of the San Joaquin Valley have subsided by more than 30 feet. Similar fossil water depletion is happening in other regions all around the world. TBM and tunneling technology has matured and further developments in the industry are poised to speed up the tunneling process and it's these tunnels that are the only way to move large volumes of water from the ocean inland. The water is moved inland to areas where it can be desalinated in geothermal plants producing clean water and power. In many cases the water will recharge surface reservoirs where it will be used first to make more hydro power before being released into rivers and canal systems. It's very important however to not stop tunneling at these first stops but to continue several legs until the water has traveled from the ocean under mountain ranges to interior states. Along the way water will flow down grade through tunnels and rise in geothermal loops to fill mountain top pumped hydro batteries several times before eventually recharging several major aquifers. What I am proposing is essentially reversing the flow of the Colorado River Compact. Bringing water from the coast of California first to mountaintop reservoirs then to the deserts of Nevada and Arizona and on to Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. This big idea looks past any individual city or states problems and looks at the whole and by using first principles identifies the actual problem and only solution. Thank you for your time, I would like the opportunity to explain in further detail and answer any questions.

[@LLLL666]

Well David I had thought about the same. Why can they use ocean water pumped inland into the forest. But nothing can be solved until they stop spraying us with chemtrails. And also with HARPP modifying our weather. They sprayed chemtrails heavy last Tuesday by 10am. I counted 20 lines of chemtrails. Then a little on Wednesday and nothing Thursday. The heat from the sun is getting trapped and causing global warming. My lawn is really drying right now. We need to stop these chemtrails and HARPP before going green. It doesn't make sense why they're spraying or who is doing it. But they're up there destroying our land.

[@Bemadding]

That's all interesting, but it doesn't change the fact of increasing heat and dryness.. We certainly need to manage forests better; even more, we need to stop burning fossil fuels. Wildfires are just one of many problems caused by climate change.

[@logosview]

great video .. we hear about climate change every day till we are sick of it . yet nobody relates the effect of the damage that the smoke causes . or does it ? i would have liked to have heard more about that and maybe that is the way to to get our leaders wake up

[@ryanmcneiltrains1305]

I hate forest fire smoke, so much. It blocks out the beautiful sun. This needs to be controlled.

[@ImOutsideTheBox]

Grow more trees, cut down trees, sometimes I just don't know what the hippies want from me :(

[@kracker675]

To smoke the trees

[@maxcunningham6264]

Real Life Ron Swanson???

[@olegwoo6003]

It is an interesting view on wildfires. Never heard before. Thanks. Billion acres of forest every year are burnt in Taiga. What is a reason/trigger of wildfire? Human being, black loggers?

[@susanliebermann5721]

When will people like you, Paul, summon the courage to disclose the single most damaging component in this story: geoengineering. Aerosol spraying of heavy metals in our skies day in and day out for decades.

[@BenClason]

The most public doesn't still care and really want to do anything about it. Until there is a collaborative environmental unification, well lose everything in ten years

[@pyronac1]

seems to me that it is the Home owners that are the problem. if not for them, the smoke from a controlled burn would not be classified as an 'avoidable nuisance'. and this year in 2021 there is going to be a massive draught. and homeowners are being given priority for water, over farmers. because you know, homeowners dont need food.

[@leifcian4288]

Extra fuel could be put through a chipper and used to restore some soil carbon to depleted agricultural areas (where its been ploughed into dust and blown away) then any supplementary controlled burning would be a lot lighter and you know... more controlled. The increased in soil carbon would help farmland to hold more water again as such resorting an amount of the larger hydrological cycle.

[@Valiyus]

I figured TED talks comments section would be a lot of intellectual people wanting to discuss this issue but that was before the Fire Nation attacked. But for real, this comment section is absolutely horrible.

[@53bigmikejones]

Back in the 50's, 60's and 70's, timber management companies did the job and fires were minimized. Environmentalists took charge, ran off timber companies and now, like the Cal Fire PIO said, they have 29000 acres of dead trees and it is a S L O W job thinning it out. Down south, control burns, timber management, all help deal with wild fires.

[@patrickofarrell7748]

Mike Jones I think you're forgetting about the replanting that comes after harvest. The trees are planted incredibly close together and presumably increasing the density and the fire hazard. Not that I agree with much he had to say but logging and replanting isn't exactly leading to healthy, fire resistant forests. Wouldn't you agree?

[@mtnrat]

There used to be 4+ trees planted for every one cut down. Current practice here in BC is to plant one for one or less to get proper spacing and make sure it is planted well for high survival rate. The 4+ for every one was done to please the enviros even though the foresters knew it was too many.