It's hot out there... hot and dry. Rivers in the Northern Rockies are at an 80-year low; National Forests and Wildlife Refuges are being closed due to extreme fire danger. To watch the evening news, you might think it the end of "western" civilization. But what is the role of fires in western ecology? How much are these fires a part of natural systems, and how much are they a product of forest "management"? How much are these fires the result of Politics?

FIRE FACTS:

Facts About Montana's 12 Largest Fires
Interesting facts about the nature of these fires in Roaded vs. Unroaded lands.

Wildfires and Logging- 15 Facts
A list of fifteen facts including citations.

Commercial Logging For Fire Prevention: Facts -vs- Fantasies
The notion that commercial logging can prevent wildfires has its believers and loud proponents, but this belief does not match up with the scientific evidence or history of federal management practices.

Fire Facts for Montana's Forests
Facts and assumptions, to help debate the costs and benefits of an increased prescribed fire program in the wake of this year's fires. By Rob Ament, American Wildlands

NEWS:

Fires Not Caused by Reduced Logging, Congressional Report Finds
There appears to be no link between reduced logging on national forests over the last decade and the wildfires now raging through much of the West, a report by a bipartisan research group for Congress has found. New York Times.

Clinton to ask for $1.2 billion
As wildfires ravage Western forests, the Clinton administration is preparing to ask Congress for $1.2 billion to repair the damage and take steps to prevent future blazes. AP

Wildfires Ignite Forest Management Debate
When the most aggressive U.S. fire season in 50 years occurs during an election year, political sparks are bound to fly. Environmental News Network.

Groups Request Congressional Hearings on Forest Service $12 Billion Forest Proposal
A press release from 57 organizations.

ANALYSIS:

The Abuse of Other People's Hard Times: The Politics of Forest Fires
By Thomas Michael Power, Chairman, Economics Department, University of Montana.

Water and Fire: How Dry Inland Forest Gets Even Drier
A look at the dynamic interaction between the water cycle and forests, by Lance Olsen

OPINION:

Smokey Bear Was Wrong
Washington Post Editorial
Before this year's devastating fires are used as a wedge to ratchet up commercial logging on public lands, a few points need to be remembered.

Where There's Smoke There's Liars, Part 2
AWR executive director Mike Bader, a former ranger and firefighter in Yellowstone, updates his analysis of the politics behind wildfires in the American West.

Look Beyond Logging
By Montana Governor Marc Racicot... "What we're calling for in the West is a balanced program of stewardship and investment in our national forests. Nothing more and nothing less. Those who find conspiracies in our pleas risk losing everything that they claim to hold in awe."

The Best Fire Season Ever?
The fire-fighting juggernaut continues to exploit the recent rash of western wildfires without any serious discussion in the media about the positive value of fires to western ecosystems, nor anyone questioning whether it's even possible to halt these blazes.

Behind the Lines in the Bitterroot
A Bitterroot resident describes the coming together of his community and the political wedge that Montana's governor is trying to drive between them.

Heavily logged area proof of Racicot's posturing
"A spectacular lightning storm on July 31 touched off more than 60 fires in the southern Bitterroot Valley of Montana. Two days later my neighbors were the first to be evacuated..."

Using Wildfires for Political Gain is Shameful
With wildfires burning throughout Montana and much of the western United States, it is unfortunate and disturbing that the timber industry and some of their supporters have decided to use the wildfires as an excuse to advance their political agenda of increased logging and roadbuilding in America's National Forests.

Getting Burned by the Timber Industry
by Julia Butterfly Hill

Out of the Ashes: Planning, Humility
Burn of 1988 proved the power of nature, imprudence of panic; can we learn the lessons they offered?

Don't Blame Clinton for the Wildfires
By Bozeman Daily Chronicle Editorial Board
Politics is the crassest sport, especially when politicians try to spin a disaster to their political advantage.

ONLINE FIRE RESOURCES:

Fires of '88
An on-line exhibit from AWR, first presented on the tenth anniversary of the Yellowstone fires of 1988.

The Northern Rockies Coordination Center
website provides access to national and regional fire status reports. Click on the box marked "National Situation Report" and scroll down to Northern Rockies.

Rocky Mountain Research Station
This is a Forest Service website and provides a comprehensive listing of publicatons, some of which pertain directly to the latest fire research.

Pacific Northwest Research Station
This is a Forest Service website and provides a comprehensive listing of publicatons, some of which pertain directly to the latest fire research.

Firewise
This website provides valuable information on how homeowners living within the urban/wildland interface can reduce the threat of fire to the homes.

Discovery.com
A special section on wildfires with many stories and reports

Current Fire Map

Yellowstone National Park Fire Information

Forest Service Fire Library

Fire Articles
A list of on-line articles on various aspects of fire ecology and politics.

A Wilderness Fire Primer
Reprinted from The Wilderness Watcher, the newsletter of Wilderness Watch.

EAR TO THE GROUND:

Governor Racicot of Montana appeared on both the ABC and FOX Sunday morning news programs August 27th, spending much of his time again blaming the fires on the Clinton administration. According to Racicot, any suggestion that his criticism of Clinton is politically motivated - or an attempt to further the candidacy of Bush - is "patent nonsense," and to politicize the wildfires, he said, would be "outrageous" and "inappropriate."
Related stories: Behind the Lines in the Bitterroot, Don't Blame Clinton for the Wildfires and Look Beyond Logging.