How to prevent forest fires the Donald Trump way
By John Welford
@indexer (4852)
Leicester, England
November 19, 2018 8:07am CST
According to President Donald Trump, the way to stop forest fires spreading is to rake up all the fallen leaves, just like they do in Finland!
Where on earth does he get these stupid ideas from? Does he really imagine that that's what happens in Finland, or any other country that is not regularly ravaged by fires of the kind they get in California?
And how precisely does he think that such action - were it even possible - is going to prevent the spread of fire?
Does he not know that leaf litter is essential to forest ecosystems and the wildlife that lives there? A silly question - of course he doesn't!
You don't get catastrophic fires in Finland for the simple reason that it is a much colder place than California and the forests are therefore not tinder dry and flammable.
So why are California's forests a vast bonfire just waiting to be lit? Presdient Trump might like to wonder a bit more about climate change and the shift in weather patterns that has led to five years of drought in California - but he doesn't believe in that, does he?
11 people like this
9 responses
@GardenGerty (157551)
• United States
19 Nov 18
I saw something on Facebook that might help, although it was not claimed to. Some places use goats to clear the land of weeds and small brush. The seeds they eat are rendered infertile by their digestive tract. Would this be a solution? No, but it would be better than raking the leaves. Raking leaves is a silly pass time anyway. Leaves are part of the cycle of life for many critters that live in them and their decomposition enriches the soil
5 people like this
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
19 Nov 18
Leaf litter actually helps to keep the soil moist and prevent it drying out, thus making fire spread less likely.
There is a forest management technique that might help, and that is to create firebreaks in which there are no trees and flames cannot leap across. What you must not do is build towns in the clearings between forested areas - which seems to be what Californians love to do.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (62145)
• United States
19 Nov 18
I have no idea. California has had wildfires for decades, if not longer. I'm sure the residents should be doing rain dances while they rake their leaves, too, since there's so little rainfall in many of these places hit by rains. Oh, and they should build a big wind screen to stop the Santa Ana winds.
I was so mad when he said that. You don't hear him telling the people in Panama City to move because they're close to where hurricanes hit and hurricane relief is costing us a lot of money....or telling the people in Oklahoma to "just move because there are too many tornadoes in Oklahoma."
A little sympathy would be nice. Just a little!
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (45487)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
19 Nov 18
No, he doesn't... believe in facts.
What I'd like to know is, why, after years of catastrophic forest fires, are there any forests left to cause catastrophic forest fires.
1 person likes this
@popciclecold (35103)
• United States
19 Nov 18
You are so right, he doesn't believe in climate change.
@Plethos (13560)
• United States
19 Nov 18
climate change had nothing to do with the fire.
it appears to of have been caused by a power line that came down during the annual santa ana winds that blow through the state at the beginning of every spring and fall.
despite how stupid what he says was, hes actually half right. but i dont expect hi to know a lot, since hes not from california.
@Daelii (5619)
• United States
19 Nov 18
oh my gosh...
The fires in CA are just awful!!! I do believe, there should be more done to try and help the situation. I don't think raking leaves is the answer.
I don't know what is.
But I'm sure people more enlightened than I have the answers or ideas...
1 person likes this
