Large-scale wildfire events cause potentially trillions of dollars of damage as they engulf entire communities. | Pixabay/Daniel Zuflucht
Large-scale wildfire events cause potentially trillions of dollars of damage as they engulf entire communities. | Pixabay/Daniel Zuflucht
Melanie Parker, deputy director of Sonoma County Regional Parks, recently discussed a new documentary about the increasing occurrence of large scale wildfires in the western United States.
Parker discussed the documentary in an interview with, KSRO News Director Michelle Marques. Titled The West is Burning, the documentary seeks to raise awareness about the conditions of forests in the western U.S.
"It's basically what we all know and see every year now which is this increasing prevalence of not only repeat fires, but repeat large fires," Parker told KSRO News. "[Fires are] larger, hotter, faster moving than ever and it just sort of tells the story of how we got ourselves into this predicament."
At the time of filming, Parker was the natural resource manager of Sonoma County Regional Parks. She explained that she had to figure how to actively manage landscapes to promote ecological resilience and community safety.
"I came on board in 2015 to create the Natural Resource Program at Sonoma County Regional Parks and when I first got here, one of my first questions was, 'What are we doing for fires?' and everyone said, 'We don't have fires in Sonoma County,'" Parker said.
When questioned if Sonoma County has improved its approach to forest management following large-scale fire events in recent years, Parker said that improvements were "tremendous," and that the various departments are taking active measures to improve communications with one another.
"I think the elected officials in the county as well as all the professionals that run the various departments are actively collaborating to talk about and plan for these fires and for appropriate education management to reduce the impact of these fires," Parker said.
Large-scale wildfire events cause potentially trillions of dollars of damage as they engulf entire communities.
The film emphasizes the urgent need to act now, and the potential to generate positive change in forests, watersheds and communities, both rural and urban.
Viewers can find instructions on how to view the documentary and the schedule of showings here.
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