The news media are continuing to use University of California Cooperative Extension as a source of information on fire issues. In a New York Times article, UC Riverside earth sciences professor Richard A. Minnich raises the sometimes controversial issue of the state's fire policy.
“California has lost 1.5 million acres in the last four years,” Minnich is quoted in the second paragraph of the article. “When do we declare the policy a failure?”
The article presents the argument that California has gigantic fires from time to time because of its fire
suppression policies — in which the government has kept fires from their normal
cycle — ultimately resulting in huge fuel stores that erupt into "conflagrations" every few years when the conditions are right.
On Oct. 25, the Bay City News Wire ran a tip sheet distributed by UC News and Information Outreach with links to a wide variety of UC Cooperative Extension Web sites and workshops. UCCE provides a wealth of information on what to do before, during and after a wildfire.
