Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate

If you read only one book about wildfire issues, I recommend that it be Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate by Dr. Chad Hanson. This book exposes how misinformation about fire is leading to bad policies that harm forests and increase global warming. Smokescreen then points the way to genuine solutions.Dr. Hanson is a scientist at the forefront of fire ecology research. He is also the director of a grassroots forest protection organization, so he understands the on-the-ground implications of fire science. In Smokescreen, he interweaves his own personal experiences with exploration of many exciting scientific discoveries, making for an informative, accessible, and engaging read.The central message of Smokescreen is that timber industry, the US Forest Service, and their allies are using misinformation to push for more logging of national forests under the guise of fighting “catastrophic” wildfires. However, more and more science is revealing that our forests have evolved with big, intense fires. Indeed, many animals and plants benefit from the great habitat created by these fires. In contrast, logging done under fire-related pretexts is the real catastrophe, destroying forests and imperiling wildlife.In addition to causing ecological damage, logging under fire-related pretexts also damages our climate, releasing stored forest carbon into the atmosphere. In contrast, fire circulates forest nutrients, stimulating new growth and more carbon sequestration. Smokescreen shows how fully protecting national forests from logging is an integral part of an overall solution to the climate crisis. Just as climate justice activists who challenge public lands fossil fuel extraction declare that we must “keep it in ground,” likewise when faced with public lands logging, we need to make parallel calls to “keep it in the forest.”While debunking wildfire myths is crucial for saving our forests and our climate, Smokescreen shows it is also needed to save our communities. Communities built next to fire-dependent ecosystems are being falsely told that more logging will keep them safe, but the reality is that logging can actually increase fire speed and intensity. In contrast, non-logging actions directly in and around homes– such as installing low-cost vent screens to keep out flammable embers—can be highly effective in protecting communities during intense wildfires.Dr. Hanson also devotes a chapter of Smokescreen specifically to the role of fire in the eastern US. Here he explains why many eastern land managers “mistakenly believe that historical fire frequencies were much higher than they really were. This leads to forest mismanagement, including the imposition of prescribed burns at rates that far exceed natural historical fire frequencies…”By exposing fire myths and then presenting real solutions, Smokescreen ultimately offers a positive pathway. As Dr. Hanson wryly notes, “Now for the good news: you are being deceived. If everything you were told almost daily about forests, wildfires, and climate were true, there would be little hope. The truth, however, is that hope lies just beyond the falsehoods.”

Smokescreen is not always an easy read. To make his points, Chad Hanson needs to provide background and specifics – it can get detailed – but he does it well. His writing style is engaging and… straight to the point: the critical learning factor for me was that our natural assumption that forest density and snags contribute to the intensity of wildfires is plain wrong. In spite of that, many policy makers take this false intuition for fact, while in the US, the forest service even takes advantage of this popular misconception to create income by senseless logging.The author establishes a clear differentiation between the increasing extremes of global warming with their inherent future danger, and the intensity of some of today’s forest fires. Too much logging and ground level shrub clearance work is what is usually exacerbating today’s problems. With a knowledgeable going-in position that forest fires are part of a natural rejuvenation cycle, quite different decisions would – and should be made.I am currently struck by discussions about much-publicized fires here in Europe, notably Greece, where the popular mantra is that not enough is being done to stop or control them. But should they and… can they? As Chad Hanson says, “No one tries to fight or stop a hurricane or a tornado […] we build homes that can better withstand these weather events”. We need to accept that wildland fires are natural and that what we need more of is fire-adapted ecosystems.His final plea to environmental journalists, is asking them to not always categorize such fires as ecological disasters when they are deeply embedded in the regenerative circle of life. I hope many of them will read this well-researched and insightful book – and follow his thoughtful advice.

What an eye opening book! Anyone that cares about the forests and the wildlife within should read this book. As usual, those government agencies we think that are there to make us and our surroundings safe, Are self serving and actually the problem not the solution. The USFS is corrupt and in bed with the logging industry. They are destroying the forests and pushing false paradigms. Completely backwards and in the dark ages! Cutting down massive trees in the name of saving the forests and environment is ludicrous at best! We need to stop them before they destroy the planet! Stop the greed! Smokey the Bear is rolling in his grave!

This book, written from extensive research and personal experience, gave me a new education about how wildfires really work and the incredibly counterproductive policies of the Forest Service in treating forests. The information on thinning forests is particularly useful. Few people realize that it can actually make forests more volatile. Also of great interest is the information about the importance of "snag" forests to wildlife. If you care about our national forests, please read this book and then get involved in your local forest management....before federal policies and the planned "thinning" destroys it.

This book should be sent to every local, state, and federal representative. I've seen first hand the devastation of some of the "management" techniques and that needs to stop. We seem intent on continuing 19th and 20th century concepts when the latest information shows they are totally misguided. Another area that is operating under misconceptions is prairie/open space management. The noxious weed act is just a handout to Monsanto/Bayer.But this book could use a serious editorial scrubbing. The ideas are important, but the delivery needs work.I'd also suggest reading Finding the Mother Tree.