Fireproof forest? Don't bank on it

In a fierce fire season such as the one that currently grips much of Montana, there typically is a claim from some quarters that more logging would have somehow prevented or lessened the wildfires.

Well, that may be the case in some places. But it is misleading to present logging and "active forest management" as a blanket panacea that will stop or reduce fire intensity everywhere it is applied.

That's just not the case, especially in a season such as this one, where large fires are emerging on equal-opportunity landscapes with record dryness in fuels, high temperatures and a near complete absence of rain for weeks.

And here in Northwest Montana, several have emerged on lands that have been heavily roaded and logged for decades.

The Brush Creek Fire is burning through old clearcuts, recent logging units and yes, it is burning through stands that were arguably long-overdue for active management.

The 86,731-acre Chippy Creek Fire has burned through a variety of ownerships where commercial logging has been a priority. These include more than 2,500 acres of state school trust lands, nearly 31,000 acres of Flathead tribal lands, 40,000 acres on the Lolo National Forest, and just over 13,000 acres of private lands, most of it owned by Plum Creek Timber Co.

Aerial photographs show that the 25,170-acre Jocko Lakes Fire has burned through a patchwork of old and recent logging units as well as mature forestlands west of Seeley Lake.

Fires are also popping at all elevations in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, where logging is prohibited.

Because of the extreme conditions this summer, this has been pretty much an equal-opportunity fire season.

All forest landscapes are not the same. If you remove the overstory of an older forest on a south-facing slope, for example, that stand can be more prone to drying out, becoming even more vulnerable to fire as summer progresses.

And obviously, a swath of unmanaged, decadent lodgepole is virtually built for fire. Arguably, the best treatment for many such stands is the oh-so-reviled clearcut.

There is an obvious argument that it's better to remove valuable timber rather than waiting for it to burn. And clearly, forest management near homes and developed areas should be a priority.

Foresters and fire managers can show many examples where forest fire intensity declines in actively managed stands. But they can also show you many examples where fires have burned right through and beyond clearcuts.

We have long supported active forest management. We would like to see more timber sales for a variety of reasons. But the public shouldn't buy into the pitch that logging creates a fireproof forest. There's no such thing.