SPRINGERVILLE, Ariz. – A raging wildfire that could become the largest in Arizona history is rekindling the blame game surrounding ponderosa pine forests that have become dangerously overgrown after a century of fire suppression.
Some critics put the responsibility on environmentalists for lawsuits that have cut back on logging. Others blame overzealous firefighters who have altered the natural cycle of lightning-sparked fires that once cleared the forest floor.
Either way, forests that once had 50 trees per acre now have hundreds, sometimes thousands, and the landscape is choked with tinder-dry brush.
The density of the growth has fueled immense conflagrations in recent years like the 525-square-mile blaze now burning in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest northeast of Phoenix.
“I think what is happening proves the debate,” said state Sen. Sylvia Allen, a Republican from rural Snowflake.
In the past, a 20,000-acre fire was considered huge. “And it used to be the loggers got right on it. Never in the past have you had these huge fires.”
Today, it’s not uncommon to have fires that exceed 100,000 acres.
On Thursday, the huge blaze known as the Wallow Fire was still burning completely out of control. After reportedly being sparked by a campfire, it has become the second-largest wildfire in
Read More from the Article Source: Full Article
