Feds in Paradise make push for more forest management after Camp Fire

Purdue and Zinke vowed to assist the town’s efforts, with Perdue saying the two were there to see “how can we help, and what can we do.” But the talk soon turned to “longer-term goals,” like better management of forests. “There’s no silver bullet,” said Zinke, “but we can remove dead and dying trees.” “We can’t get rid of fire,” said Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, “but we can deal with fuels.” He pointedly said there was a real need to make progress on U.S. Forest Service lands. Cal Fire incident commander Dave Russell earlier had told the gathering that the tree canopy in Paradise was largely intact, and that buildings were the main source of fuel. “It was a house-to-house fire,” he said. “We have hundreds of communities like Paradise all over the state,” Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott added later. “A fire that’s burning like a blowtorch … our way of fighting fire isn’t going to work.” He suggested looking at “the built part of the environment.” The focus turned back to forest management when the group trekked to Paradise Lake, where Butte County Fire Safe Council Executive Director Calli-Jane DeAnda explained the fire breaks that have been built in the area. The area had been treated three times in the last five years, both by the council and Sierra Pacific Industries, which owns land in the area. The Camp Fire didn’t hit the area the first day when the winds were so ferocious, but the treatment, which involves removing brush from beneath the trees, worked to protect upper Magalia...MORE