Crockford: Fires have existed for millennia as a result of naturally occurring climate cycles

Susan Crockford : Weather-driven conditions conducive to forest fires have existed for millennia as a result of naturally occurring climate cycles.

Arson is a disturbing subset of human-caused wildland fires, and the deliberate intent that defines these fires can be difficult to detect and hard to prove, she says. Arson was a serious issue in several southern U.S. states as early as the 1950s, when 35% to 50% of forest fires were judged to have been started deliberately.

Recent epidemics of forest pests, including the mountain pine beetle ( Dendroctonus ponderosae ) have devastated large woodland tracts across the past 40 years .

Evidence from the Western U.S. shows that reduced logging and increased fire suppression are largely responsible for the apparent increase in wildfire severity. Susan Crockford is a zoologist and evolutionary biologist with Pacific Identifications Inc. Original article link.