Photo: Fire & Trunk

In the year 2000, the federal government spent $1.6 billion to fight the summer fires which scorched 10,000 square miles. Thinning the forests would prevent a lot of fire destruction, but residents and tourists like thick forest views. Leaving the big and older trees would help prevent fires from spreading, but of course these are the first loggers want to remove. So the vicious cycle keeps turning: forests must be thinned, but will not be thinned properly, so the government spends to contain the damage instead of being allowed to be proactive.