Fire Plans Likely To Face Severe Tests This Summer - AZ Republic

The flames that consumed homes and tens of thousands of acres of grassland in Oklahoma, Texas and eastern New Mexico, that led to evacuations in forested areas of southern Colorado in January and are burning in northern Arizona also carry early warnings that we are likely facing our earliest fire season ever. We hope it's not also our deadliest.

The year 2005, though wet, was the warmest year on record on the planet. And we are in the midst of one of the driest winters ever in the Southwest. The combination of vegetation growth, drought and global warming led to this situation.

This will be a trial year for the visionary National Fire Plan, both for homeowners and the federal government.

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Despite fire-management plans calling for the use of wildland fire as a management tool, few forests have ever done so. The Gila National Forest, a pioneer in fire use, is just one of three national forests that even considers the use of wildland fire outside of designated wilderness. That means fire is not being allowed to play its natural role in restoring health to our forests. Fire's early arrival this season will certainly test our planning and preparedness as envisioned in the National Fire Plan. We wish for the safety of our firefighters and people with homes in our forests. We also believe that fires must be able to fulfill their ecological role where appropriate in the critical months and years ahead.

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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0214bird-fire.html