Many years ago forests were regulated and kept in check by fire. Wildfires sparked by lightning would clear dead under brush and give larger, healthier trees room to grow.
Today, fires are often sparked by humans – whether intentional or accidental – and result in devastating and expansive burn areas. But once the firefighters roll up their hoses and ground their air tankers, what happens to restore the destroyed wild lands?
Since the King Fire ripped through two counties and claimed more than 97,000 acres, logging trucks have been carrying away any salvageable timber they can while crews continue to restore the badly damaged landscape.
Companies like Sierra Pacific Industries, a logging company based out of Redding, Calif., lost 20,000 acres of privately held forested lands during the King Fire – land they must now try to repair and reforest for future harvests.
Mark Pawlicki, director of corporate affairs and sustainability with Sierra Pacific, said in the last five years alone thousands of acres of company land has been destroyed along side state and federal lands.
From the Auburn Journal: https://www.auburnjournal.com/article/11/16/14/logging-part-rehabilitation-wake-wildfires