In red California, a destructive fire ignites political rage at liberal government

 In red California, a destructive fire ignites political rage at liberal government

In this conservative corner of California, the monstrous fire that killed four people and destroyed dozens of structures is being politicized by many.

   Some residents acknowledge the role of climate change in California's increasingly destructive guns, but their real anger is often focused on decades of government policies that they believe have increased fire hazards and the Klamath.  Fighting the devastating McKinney fire on the national forest just got tougher.

   Nestled in the shadow of that national forest, Yreka was once a "timber town" known for its logging industry.  This week, some residents said the slow death of the industry has been caused by wildfires in the area.  Corresponds to the frequency of plants becoming overgrown and overgrown.

   As kids, we rarely feared that fires would get out of control and engulf entire towns, said Bill Roberson, 60, a lifelong resident of Siskiyou County and a fourth-generation Californian.

   Experts say that there are many reasons behind the fire.  Population growth has pushed more residents into the wooded urban interface, leading to more homes and people being damaged.  What's more, human-caused global warming has contributed to rising temperatures and increased aridity, creating the process of turning even the tiniest spark into a firestorm.

   However, some community stakeholders said that bureaucratic red tape is preventing essential work from being done.  His concerns include Sacramento and Washington, D.C.  He expressed growing frustration with decision-makers in the U.S., who he said often fail to consider the interests of rural, conservative Northern Californians.

   As a government we have no problem declaring emergencies for most things, so why doesn't Washington declare and prioritize public health and safety emergencies for the Pacific Northwest based on forest health and climate change?  asked Larry Alexander, executive director of the Northern California Resource Center, which sponsors fire safety conferences in Yreka and other parts of the county.  It would be beneficial to the forest, beneficial to public health and safety, and it would employ many people.

   Dissatisfaction with the state and federal governments was a common practice among indigenous people in the counties at the center of Jefferson's proposed state.  A breakaway state would include parts of northern California and southern Oregon, where many residents of largely remote and rural areas believe they have been neglected by the governments of both states.

   The Jeffersonian movement is decades old, with the original 1941 plan proposing Yreka as the capital, but it has gained new energy in recent years as supporters say liberal Democratic policies on issues such as gun control, immigration and taxes are inconsistent with their interests.  Huh.  And as the area's once-thriving timber industry becomes increasingly unfriendly to regulation, environmentalism, technological advances and other market forces, many locals turn to the now-smoldering forests with a growing sense of betrayal.

   "When we lost the logging industry around this area, it was devastating for us," said Yreka Mayor Duane Keigh.  We've lost a lot of our economy, and losing a lot of the economy affects a variety of issues like homelessness, drug and alcohol problems.  We have seen this for years and I attribute it all to the loss of our logging industry in the 80's.

   Scholarship has strengthened as the battle between environmentalists, loggers, and politicians escalates and wildfires continue to grow.  In 2018, then-President Trump blamed California's growing conflicts on the state's failure to clear the forest floor.  In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom denounced the US Forest Service's burn policy after a 69,000-acre tamarack fire spread to some communities near South Lake Tahoe, prompting the agency to rethink its approach.

   Alexander attributed the forest management backlog to the Endangered Species Act's environmental approval process to protect northern spotted owl habitats in the forest, which can take two to five years to resolve.  He also questioned whether the high-level officials really understood the urgency of the situation.

   When it comes to prevention, we are behind the curve in forest health initiatives and lack adequate fuel, he said.  It just needs to be 100 times more than what we're doing in terms of funding and resources and planning, and we fall behind every year.

   Some work has been done locally, including a fuel reduction project on private property bordering the forest west of Yreka.  The work was funded by the Forest Service and was completed just days before the McKinney fire.

   It was part of an $8 million project known as the Craggy Vegetable Management Project, developed by the Yreka Fire Safe Council, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Forest Service to improve fire resistance on approximately 11,000 acres.  Area by project page to help build.

   But the project took more than seven years to get off the ground, Forest Service documents show, and only about a third of the 11,000 acres have received some treatment.  Agency spokeswoman Kimberly Devall emphasized that although part of the Craigie project boundary extends along Highway 96 because of the McKinney fire, the design was primarily intended to protect the communities of Yreka and Hawkinsville from wildfires.  15 miles southeast.  from where the structure caught fire.

   Many residents affected by Northern California's wildfires can't help but worry about which agency has jurisdiction over the vast majority of wildfires in the state, counting state, federal and private lands across its vast territory.  What matters to them is what is done.