On Saturday, July 13, 2002, I drove through forest-fire smoke and dust from Skyline Drive above Fairview along Highway 89 to my home in Cedar City.
I saw devastation in all of the Engelmann spruce forests from Fairview Canyon to Coal Creek, including the once-beautiful, north-facing slopes above Fish Lake.
I have observed the similar collapse of white spruce forests in Alaska. There, however, the fires either raged out of control or were allowed to burn themselves out.
We must try to stop similar catastrophic fires from consuming all of the dead timber in the National Forests of Utah. Cabin sites and other recreation areas ought to be protected.
Sadly, we will still have the fires against our wishes. Therefore, I humbly recommend that all of the standing dead Engelmann spruce in Utah be cut for house logs, or chipped and shipped to paper mills of the Pacific Northwest states, to replace the lumber and fiber now being preserved for owls and osprey. Younger, live trees will survive and grow for next generation, instead of being killed in the inevitable fires. The cost will be much less than the insurance reimbursements and FEMA grants needed for the cabins and businesses lost in the fire next time.
Gary F. Player
Cedar City