Zinke backpedals on statement regarding climate, wildfires

With his comments this week on California’s recent spate of vicious wildfires, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke waded into a long-standing debate over how forests are managed.

Zinke and President Donald Trump also dismissed the impact of global warming on the fires. But the secretary later clarified his comments, responding “of course” when asked if he accepted that climate change was part of the problem.

In radio and television interviews while in California visiting with firefighters, Zinke acknowledged that fires had been getting worse. But he said what was driving this summer’s severe blazes — including the Mendocino Complex Fire north of San Francisco that is now the largest in the state’s history — was “fuel load,” or the presence of dead and dying trees that have not been cleared from forests.

In one interview, with Breitbart Radio, Zinke blamed “environmental terrorist groups” for the situation, saying their legal efforts had prevented the widespread harvesting of dead timber.

But John Barnwell, director of government affairs with the Society of American Foresters, said there was no single reason this summer’s fires have been so severe.

“I have to respectfully disagree with Secretary Zinke and say that a multitude of factors contribute to the tinderbox conditions in California and across the West,” Barnwell wrote in an email.