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Article: The blaze next time; Fires; The west prepares for fires.(wildfire management)(United States)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- April 28, 2001
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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SONNY O'NEAL is a worried man in what sounds like a nice job. He is the supervisor of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, a vast swathe of trees, mountains and grassland that curves from central Washington state to the Canadian border. This spring, the snow is only half as deep as usual. The spring sun will soon burn it off, leaving the Ponderosa pines and Douglas firs tinder-dry. "It's shaping up to be a pretty bad year for fires," says Mr O'Neal.
Some 40m acres of wildlands are at high risk of fire this summer, an area that encompasses chunks of Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Utah. Recent rains have helped to moisten the landscape, but ...