{"id":64407,"date":"2019-06-25T04:00:59","date_gmt":"2019-06-25T11:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=64407"},"modified":"2019-07-10T09:39:30","modified_gmt":"2019-07-10T16:39:30","slug":"wildfire-episode-five-the-future-of-wildfire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/podcasts\/wildfire-episode-five-the-future-of-wildfire","title":{"rendered":"Wildfire Episode Five: The Future of Wildfire"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"cb-itemprop\" itemprop=\"reviewBody\"><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.simplecast.com\/eeaff348-6b30-4dd5-875e-df377827491c?dark=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/E5-The-Future-Of-Wildfire-REI-Wildfire-Final-Master.pdf\">Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The kid had started a fire that burned 49,000 acres of forest\u201476 square miles\u2014a fire that closed a major highway, keeping hundreds of thousands of people from visiting the Gorge and its many businesses that rely on tourism to stay afloat. Oregon Parks and Recreation had to lay off a few dozen people to make up for lost business; The many families of the Gorge that evacuated suffered enormous financial burdens and emotional trauma; Five-thousand homes were threatened by the fire; The slopes of the Gorge were destabilized, as the root systems holding the dirt together burned up, leaving it prone to landslides and rockfall; The fire rained ash on Portland for days, and the smoke-filled air was a serious health hazard for more than a week; Many of the trails and campgrounds in the Gorge are still closed to this day. Clearly, the consequences were far reaching, and all of this would need to be considered in court.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of a contentious trial, the court decided the kid would serve no jailtime, but he would be fined the total amount of damages from the fire: $36,618,330. On top of the fine, he was given five years of probation and nearly 2,000 hours of community service and would have to write letters to everyone impacted by the fire. And he was banned from ever returning to the Columbia River Gorge scenic area. His life had changed forever.<\/p>\n<p>In episode five of <em>Wildfire<\/em>, we dive into the political spectrum around wildfire, and look into management solutions for dealing with the future of wildfire in the United States. And we\u2019ll wrap things up in the Columbia River Gorge, concluding the story of Oregon\u2019s 2017 Eagle Creek Fire.<\/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>1:15 \u2013 \u201cBefore we went on the fieldtrip, the kids were still carrying around a lot of confusion and fear around what happened in the fire and how it affected their lives.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>4:44 \u2013 \u201cAs the fire died down, a largescale criminal investigation immediately swung into action, involving a number of law enforcement agencies. The community wanted somebody to pin the tragedy on, and they wanted a swift sentencing.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>5:18 \u2013 \u201cWhen the kid arrived at the arraignment, he was charged with a litany of crimes\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>7:46 \u2013 \u201cWhen I first started talking to people about the kid who started the fire\u2026.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>14:58 \u2013 \u201cEverything I was hearing was leading me to assume that this kid is probably a nice guy, with respect for the laws and cultural mores of this country. But he had made a huge mistake, and he would have to pay a price for that.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>16:24 \u2013 \u201cA national treasure is scarred for generations\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>18:21 \u2013 \u201cIt made me upset, because it wasn\u2019t about trying to find the learning moment\u2026 it was about just punishing him.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>19:09 \u2013 The kid declined to speak to any journalists or address the public, except for this statement that he read at his trial\u2026<\/li>\n<li>21:47 \u2013 \u201cIt was inevitable that the forest would burn. As we\u2019ve learned throughout this series, it simply has to. In fact, experts even agree that the forests in that area were overdue for a major fire.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>22:23 \u2013 \u201cOver the last two years, since the fire went out, tempers around here have definitely cooled. It seemed that everyone I talked to had come around to a place of empathy and compassion, replacing anger and vengeance.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>24:56 \u2013 \u201cIsn\u2019t the system of forestry management that left the Columbia River Gorge so extremely vulnerable to a catastrophic fire as much to blame for what happened in Eagle Creek as this 15-year-old kid?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>25:52 \u2013 \u201cI hope that we\u2019ve all learned some valuable lessons, as well: To be better stewards of our planet; to be more responsible in nature; to be more humble, and respectful, and compassionate.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>26:23 \u2013 \u201cThe Eagle Creek Fire is almost two years in the rearview mirror, and we\u2019re entering the 2019 wildfire season.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>27:30 \u2013 \u201cAs we\u2019ve learned, this is a national issue\u2026 So, what\u2019re we doing at a political level, from the top down, to combat this problem?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>31:35 \u2013 A conversation with Dr. Paul Hesberg, a 35-year veteran of the Forest Service\u2019s Research and Development group as a fire ecologist in the Pacific Northwest.<\/li>\n<li>32:35 \u2013 \u201cWe\u2019ve been finding that the annual acres burned has been increasing consistently from year-to-year and decade-to-decade. And we\u2019re seeing a nexus of a warming and drying climate interacting with 100 years or more of fire exclusion, which increased the area and density of many of our forests.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>33:08 \u2013 \u201cThe studies throughout the world are really conclusive. Rational minds aren\u2019t arguing about whether or not we\u2019re living in a new climate change world. We are. Period.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>34:30 \u2013 \u201cWe need to create wildfire-adapted communities. Get ready for the fires that are coming\u2014because they\u2019re coming\u2014and we can get ready before the fact.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>35:34 \u2013 Scientists have developed seven core landscape principles that they think will move us in a direction that\u2019s much more symbiotic with respect to wildfire.<\/li>\n<li>41:04 \u2013 Exploring what\u2019s happening in the Columbia River Gorge today, as it recovers from the Eagle Creek Fire.<\/li>\n<li>44:05 \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019ll look different, but it\u2019s still a beautiful place to explore and enjoy, and will be, hopefully, for generations to come.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>44:47 \u2013 \u201cHere we are, at the end of the story\u2026 disaster to regrowth.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Resources<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalforests.org\">National Forest Foundation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fs.fed.us\/pnw\/pubs\/journals\/pnw_2015_hessburg001.pdf\">Restoring fire-prone Inland Pacific landscapes: seven core principles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/paul_hessburg_why_wildfires_have_gotten_worse_and_what_we_can_do_about_it?language=en\">Paul Hessberg TED talk: Why Wildfires Have Gotten Worse and What We Can Do About It<\/a><\/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 The kid had started a fire that burned 49,000 acres of forest\u201476 square miles\u2014a fire that closed a major highway, keeping hundreds of thousands of people from visiting the Gorge and its many businesses that rely on tourism to stay afloat. Oregon Parks and Recreation had to lay off a few dozen people to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":64431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1726,1861],"tags":[],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-64407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcasts","category-wildfire"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/podcasts\/wildfire-episode-five-the-future-of-wildfire","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Wildfire Episode Five: The Future of Wildfire","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/podcasts\/wildfire-episode-five-the-future-of-wildfire","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/podcasts\/wildfire-episode-five-the-future-of-wildfire"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/shutterstock_710588260-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/shutterstock_710588260-1.jpg?fit=6000%2C4000"},"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":[],"dateCreated":"2019-06-25T11:00:59Z","datePublished":"2019-06-25T11:00:59Z","dateModified":"2019-07-10T16:39:30Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Wildfire Episode Five: The Future of Wildfire\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/podcasts\\\/wildfire-episode-five-the-future-of-wildfire\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/podcasts\\\/wildfire-episode-five-the-future-of-wildfire\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/shutterstock_710588260-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/shutterstock_710588260-1.jpg?fit=6000%2C4000\"},\"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\":[],\"dateCreated\":\"2019-06-25T11:00:59Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-25T11:00:59Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-10T16:39:30Z\"}<\/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_710588260-1.jpg?fit=6000%2C4000","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64407","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=64407"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68778,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64407\/revisions\/68778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64407"},{"taxonomy":"internal-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-tag?post=64407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}