California’s Wildfires Are Out, but Timber Industry’s Problems Are Beginning

In California, wildfires are an expected occurrence for the state’s timber industry and natural and restorative to these ecosystems. However, the severity of wildfires in 2020 and 2021 are expected to result in significant — some are calling it catastrophic — destruction in the timber industry, posing a threat to 32 million acres of territory blanketed by forests and the people who live and work there.

As a result, timber companies are being forced to rethink how to regrow sustainable forests. At the same time, lumber mills are receiving an overabundance of logs salvaged from fire-scarred forests. What hasn’t been harvested has left California’s forests with dead trees, creating fuel on the ground for the next wildfire season.