The board also points out that the forestry industry used to rely on prescribed burning to deal with fire hazards, but that has virtually been abandoned in recent decades because of public complaints about the smoke. That has only contributed to the problem.
Get that? They did the smart thing by controlled burning to keep down the threat of massive fires.
But had to stop because of “public complaints.”
Complains by whom? Most likely whacko eco-freaks who honestly have no idea what’s best for the environment.
But as it turns out, every logging company in the area had met their legal requirements under B.C.'s Wildfire Act for clearing out wood and debris.
So they did what they were told to do and are now in trouble.
Makes one wonder if similar situations exist here in the USA.
And there’s another problem, pine beetle infestation!
The impact of that plan was complicated in 2004 when the Wildfire Act came into force and extended the deadline for dealing with logging debris by almost a year from the previous limit of 19 months. The reasoning for the extra time was to give the pellet industry a chance to come in and collect the woody leftovers, according to the board's report.
More @ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-wildfire-logging-regulations-1.5087361?cmp=rss
