{"id":58086,"date":"2019-06-04T05:00:41","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T12:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=58086"},"modified":"2019-06-17T09:21:19","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T16:21:19","slug":"wildfire-episode-two-a-natural-phenomenon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/podcasts\/wildfire-episode-two-a-natural-phenomenon","title":{"rendered":"Wildfire Episode Two: A Natural Phenomenon?"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"cb-itemprop\" itemprop=\"reviewBody\"><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.simplecast.com\/ba60a8b7-6d79-4951-aa26-33df0e1cdaae?dark=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/podcasts\/transcript-wildfire-episode-two-a-natural-phenomenon\">Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Are wildfires natural? And, if so, what purpose do they serve within the ecology of our forests? Has our recent history of suppressing and combating forest fires impacted the number and severity of wildland fires today? In this episode of <em>Wildfire, <\/em>hosts Graham Zimmerman and Jim Aikman explore the natural place of wildfire in our forests, and how our government\u2019s recent approach to wildfire management has been drastically different from the approach of Native Americans, who, for thousands of years, struck a more harmonious chord with nature. They also continue the story of the human-caused Eagle Creek Fire, which, on September 4 and 5, 2017, exploded in size, threatening the small town of Cascade Locks, Oregon\u2014&#8221;The Heart of the Columbia River Gorge\u201d\u2014with total devastation.<\/p>\n<p>Listen to Wildfire on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/wildfire\/id1463624066\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/5DOpMMuF4khwtHUQTWuOcB\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/s?fid=405439&amp;refid=stpr\">Stitcher<\/a>\u00a0or wherever you listen to podcasts.<\/p>\n<h4>Key takeaways:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>1:00 \u2013 The Eagle Creek Fire threatens Cascade Locks &#8211; \u201cSave the town, and the pizza is yours for free.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>3:55 \u2013 \u201cThe day after the fire started, all 150 hikers emerged, triumphantly, from the forest.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>4:35 \u2013 We learn the fire is human-caused &#8211; \u201cWhen we finally heard about\u2026who started the fire, there was a whole wave of emotions that came with that first understanding.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>7:01 \u2013 \u201cAre wildfires a natural phenomenon? And is this phenomenon as much a part of the machinery of our planet as the changing tides and cyclical seasons?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>10:11 \u2013 The fire impacts Portland &#8211; \u201cWe came out to a car covered in what looked like a light dusting of snow, but was in fact fallen ash.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>11:24 \u2013 Tom Closter discusses the geography and geology of Mount Hood and the Cascade Mountain Range<\/li>\n<li>16:19 \u2013 Wildfire in the Cascades &#8211; \u201cUnderstanding that the Columbia is a dynamic area is to\u2026 understand that this is not a place that is a stranger to huge, violent and cataclysmic events.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>18:50 \u2013 \u201cWhen is fire ok? When is fire a disaster? Living with fire\u2026means thinking about how we as a society interact with these large, natural events that we now treat as disasters\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>20:56 \u2013 \u201cIf this is normal, how\u2019re we meant to deal with it?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>22:30 \u2013 \u201cNow, almost two years after the fire, is this something that we can\u2014or should\u2014consider a normal occurrence?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>26:08 \u2013 Native Americans and wildfire &#8211; \u201cHow did people live with this \u2018natural\u2019 phenomenon before we had all of this technology and manpower to suppress and manage it?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>33:30 \u2013 The future of fire management looks to the past &#8211; \u201cFor thousands of years, fire was a friend and a tool, and something that improved the land\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>43:59 \u2013 Dorian Soliz \u2013 Superintendent of The Warm Springs Agency Wildland Fire Module \u201cFolks don\u2019t understand that wildland fire is a very important part of land ecology.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>46:30 \u2013 \u201cNative people have been doing this for generations. It\u2019s not new to any of the tribes across North America.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>51:33 \u2013 \u201cThe law of the land for the U.S. Forest Service has been to suppress and combat fires. But what has that done to our nation\u2019s forests? And could that have anything to do with the number and severity of wildfires popping up in the headlines every summer?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>52:01 \u2013 Back at Cascade Locks &#8211; \u201cThe fire was about to grow by 600 percent in about six hours, with no signs of stopping. It was clear that this situation was going to get much worse before it got any better.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>53:26 \u2013 \u201cThe fire exploded beyond any projections as the wind picked up and spread the flames west, toward Portland.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>53:40 \u2013 \u201cThere was nothing natural about the start of the fire at all, nor nothing like the prescribed burns of the native tribes. It was simply started by a teenager with a smoke bomb.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>55:51 \u2013 \u201cWhat was under threat was our idea of the Gorge. This place that was once in our minds perfect, pristine and unsullied.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>More about the Wildfire podcast<\/h4>\n<p>When a wildfire arrives at our doorstep, it\u2019s a tragedy. This is especially true when these fires are human caused. But fire has always been an immense and immovable part of the natural order, particularly in the forests of the western United States.<\/p>\n<p>Forest fires and the destruction they cause are not black and white phenomenon, and they cannot be understood without looking closely at the issues that swirl and mutate around the subject of wildfire as much as the fires themselves.<\/p>\n<p>In <em>Wildfire<\/em>, hosts Graham Zimmerman and Jim Aikman explore the natural forest habitats in which wildfires burn, and how humans have historically interacted with forest fires and fire-susceptible terrain. Graham and Jim lead us into wild places impacted by forest fire; into history books; into conversations with scientists, naturalists, firefighters and politicians; and into the story of the destructive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonlive.com\/pacific-northwest-news\/2017\/09\/live_updates_eagle_creek_fire.html\">2017 Eagle Creek Fire<\/a>, a human-caused forest fire that forever changed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/recarea\/crgnsa\/recreation\/hiking\/recarea\/?recid=29912&amp;actid=50\">Oregon\u2019s Columbia River Gorge<\/a>, one of the most unique and beloved scenic areas in the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n<p>Guided by the story of the Eagle Creek Fire\u2014and the ordeal of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoodrivernews.com\/archive\/about-hikers-trapped-by-fire-at-eagle-creek-trail\/article_2cced0df-886f-53f5-8827-62d9456e4808.html\">150 hikers<\/a> who were unexpectedly trapped behind its towering flames\u2014<em>Wildfire <\/em>explores how, over the last 100 years in the United States, we have demonized and sought to suppress wildfire in an effort to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.conservationalliance.com\/\">preserve natural resources, scenic spaces<\/a>, and, of course, human civilization.<\/p>\n<h4>Connect with the team<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Graham&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grahamzimmerman.com\">website<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/grahamzimmerman\/\">Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jim&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jimaikman.com\">website<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jimaikman\/\">Instagram\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Evan&#8217;s (aka: the audio wizard) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.podpeak.com\">website<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/podpeak\">Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Sean&#8217;s (aka: the wordsmith) <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cascadecadence.com\">website<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can see more of Graham and Jim&#8217;s work through their production company, Bedrock Film Works.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bedrockfilmworks.com\/\">Website<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bedrockfilmworks\/\">Facebook<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bedrockfilmworks\/\">Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Transcript Are wildfires natural? And, if so, what purpose do they serve within the ecology of our forests? Has our recent history of suppressing and combating forest fires impacted the number and severity of wildland fires today? In this episode of Wildfire, hosts Graham Zimmerman and Jim Aikman explore the natural place of wildfire in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":58089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1726,1861],"tags":[727],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-58086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcasts","category-wildfire","tag-latest-posts"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/podcasts\/wildfire-episode-two-a-natural-phenomenon","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Wildfire Episode Two: A Natural Phenomenon?","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/podcasts\/wildfire-episode-two-a-natural-phenomenon","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/podcasts\/wildfire-episode-two-a-natural-phenomenon"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/shutterstock_706065505.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/shutterstock_706065505.jpg?fit=5500%2C3331"},"articleSection":"Wildfire","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chelsea Davis"}],"creator":["Chelsea Davis"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["latest posts"],"dateCreated":"2019-06-04T12:00:41Z","datePublished":"2019-06-04T12:00:41Z","dateModified":"2019-06-17T16:21:19Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Wildfire Episode Two: A Natural Phenomenon?\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/podcasts\\\/wildfire-episode-two-a-natural-phenomenon\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/podcasts\\\/wildfire-episode-two-a-natural-phenomenon\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/shutterstock_706065505.jpg?resize=150%2C150\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/shutterstock_706065505.jpg?fit=5500%2C3331\"},\"articleSection\":\"Wildfire\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Chelsea Davis\"}],\"creator\":[\"Chelsea Davis\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Uncommon Path \\u2013 An REI Co-op Publication\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"latest posts\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2019-06-04T12:00:41Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-04T12:00:41Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-17T16:21:19Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/rei.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/shutterstock_706065505.jpg?fit=5500%2C3331","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58086"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58104,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58086\/revisions\/58104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58086"},{"taxonomy":"internal-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-tag?post=58086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}