Montana’s Dr. Peter Kolb Weighs in on the California Wildfires

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Dr. Peter Kolb, Associate Professor of Forest Ecology and Management at the University of Montana's W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana was on the KGVO Talk Back program this week.

It was his first opportunity to weigh in on the devastating wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes in Southern California.

He began by contrasting Montana to Southern California.

Dr. Peter Kolb Discussed the California Fires on Talk Back

“People need to realize that Southern California is a totally different fire regime than Montana,” began Dr. Kolb. “That's a dry Chaparral ecosystem. For comparison, my folks used to live outside of Sacramento. My brother still does, and I helped them plant trees at the same time I planted trees here in Montana, and within five years, their trees were about 30 feet tall, and mine were five feet tall, so vegetation grows phenomenally fast in California.”

Dr. Kolb described the Santa Ana winds that drove the fires through Southern California.

He Described the Vicious Santa Ana Winds Driving the Fires

“You get those Santa Ana winds, which are West flowing winds coming off the dry Mojave Desert, over the mountains and down into Los Angeles. When those winds hit that wrinkly landscape, those coolies and those canyons accelerate the winds. They were clocking winds at 70 miles an hour. You can't stand when there's a 70-mile-an-hour wind gust hitting you.”

Here in Montana, we are accustomed to what we call ‘forest fires’, however, Dr. Kolb pointed out the differences to the California fires.

“Those aren't forests; those are chaparrals,” he said. “Its brush and its very fire-adapted brush. It wants to burn because it actually rejuvenates it. It sprouts back. So the brush grows quickly. It's extremely flammable. In that Mediterranean climate, all the plants have lots of waxes on them as a water conservation tactic, if you will, an evolutionary adaptation. So they're they burn like oil.”

Dr. Kolb Said the Fires Were a Disaster Waiting to Happen

Combined with the fire conditions and the poor civic planning in the area, Dr. Kolb said it was a disaster that was simply waiting to happen.

“You have the coolies that accelerate wind, you have highly flammable vegetation, and all you need is ignition,” he said. “Then you have houses built into almost impossible situations where ingress and egress is very, very difficult. And on top of that, California actually has very, very poor laws regarding a fire-safe building, so you see those houses and all the brush and all the vegetation planted right up against the houses. It's a recipe for disaster.”

Click here to listen to the entire presentation on Talk Back by Dr. Peter Kolb.