It is common knowledge that the Leftists who run Washington abhor the logging industry, charging them with destroying the state’s old-growth forests for profit, and contributing to the extinction of species like the Spotted Owl. Given that most of the old growth forests were logged in the 19th Century, mostly for shipbuilding and home construction, today’s loggers are innocent. As far as the Spotted Owl goes, loggers had nothing to do either their reduced numbers which were mostly due to predation by other owl species, NOT the logging of their preferred nesting trees.
The State Department of Natural Resources has been run by environmental wackos for decades, and they have been preventing the thinning of forests, removal of downed trees from storms, and removal of underbrush that dries and becomes a fire hazard. Thus, our forests, even in Western Washington, are huge fire hazards, and we are seeing the results this year, as wildfires have burned thousands of acres across the entire state. A large number of those fires were arson, and a few culprits have been found and charged.
This week, I took a drive up US Highway 2 to the town of Skykomish, which saw huge storm damage a few years ago, with roads blocked and power outages caused by trees falling on power lines. I was looking on the sides of the road for storm damage what has still not been cleaned up, years later. Here is what I found.
This is an entire burned hillside from previous fires, with dead trees still standing, silent sentinels of the power of fire, and reminder of what neglect can do.
Close to the road, burned trees with lush undergrowth and many downed trees, dry as a bone and susceptible to burning.
Another section with many downed trees still left amid the newer undergrowth.
The Washington DNR has been engaging in terrible forest management for decades, and will continue to do so, for as long as the Far-Left Democrats rule. This year, the state legislature CUT funds for fire-fighting, and we are seeing the results of all the continuing forest fires, on both sides of the Cascades.
We drove into the town of Skykomish, but before that we walked onto the bridge over the Skykomish River. This is the view of the mountains on the South side of the river.
Note the smoke in the air over the green hills. Wildfire smoke from Mount Rainier and Eastern Washington. We have had very poor air quality around here for weeks, due to the arson-caused fires.
And we citizens know that those firefighting costs will be passed on to us in higher taxes. Higher, and higher they go, with no one to stop them from ruining citizens and driving them out of the state. It feels like the State of Washington will soon no longer be able to claim its designation as the Evergreen State.
The Left ruins everything it touches.
Calling-all-RushBabes 
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My husband was out doing garbage pickup along our rural frontage, and found two cigars, one each side of the street, which from the remains appeared to have been tossed still burning. Fortunately did not land on combustible material. Since there can’t possibly be a cigarette or cigar smoker who hasn’t seen roadside burns all over the place clearly in evidence by end of summer, somewhere the other side of stupid to throw lighted objects from your car.