taipan821 wrote:LachlanB wrote:
Could you please explain how exactly Hazard reduction burns can be worth it, as they increase fire risk, cause massive ecological damage, and a huge health burden? All for a benefit that could be obtained through other, less destructive methods- like education and changed building practises.
So how to you prevent the old buildings and the idiots who refuse change?
The same way as with any other change- slowly, and with lots of patience. Adoption is a challenge in many land management fields, but that's no reason not to try.
taipan821 wrote:From my perspective, the hazard reduction burns are great. They're cheap, relatively easy to do and make my life slightly easier and safer.
But that's exactly the thing. They're not making your life safer and easier- in fact, they're doing the opposite, and with a host of negative side effects. They're not making your life easier, as fire risk is lower in mature forest with a large interval between fires. They're not making your life safer, because (afaik) it's the large, landscape scale fires that pose the greatest risk, and hazard reduction burns do little to control these, and pre-burnt patches don't provide a refuge then.
taipan821 wrote:I challenge people here to come up with a alternative solution that is cheap
Don't conduct any hazard reduction burns at all, or only around critical assets. By definition, the smaller scope makes it cheaper. Much of the rest of the landscape is adapted in a way that lets it respond to fire well, and will become more resilient to fire as it matures.
taipan821 wrote:If you won't go out to fight the fire, then how can you complain about what the fire fighters do?
Personally, I don't like the suggestion that because I'm not at the coal-face of whatever issue is being discussed, I can't have a rational, informed opinion on the subject. I don't think the fact that I'm not a fire-fighter means my comments on management are invalid. I'm not disparaging firefighters themselves, volunteer or otherwise- I certainly don't have the knowledge of fire fighting organisations to do that.