Pugh

The Alpena News recently published a press release from the office of Congressman Bergman bemoaning the causes and effects of the Canadian wildfires. He cast blame.

Nowhere is thick smoke thicker, the density of dense thought denser, a dim light dimmer than in a political office contriving a deflection of the truth.

Here’s a Bergman quote:

“We are done accepting apologies in place of action. If Canada will not manage its forests, the United States will –”

Consider this:

Michigan has three federal forests: the Ottawa, Hiawatha, and Huron; all are vast; together they cover over 4,000 square miles.

In addition to the federal forests, we have over 6,000 square miles of state forests and another 19,000 square miles of privately owned forest. Altogether, there are over 30,000 square miles of forests in our state, virtually all of which is road accessible. These forests provide more benefits than I have room here to recount.

That’s a lot of forest. It’s 2% of the size of the Canadian forest.

Two percent. Canada’s forest is the largest contiguous forest in the world, stretching from the Canadian Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador and encompassing over 1.3 million square miles. The great majority of this forest – 70% – is untouched wilderness unbroken by roads. Canada holds more large roadless tracts – “intact forest landscapes” – than any other place on earth.

A few years ago, I interviewed Don Klingler. Don, since retired, was the DNR forest manager for the lower peninsula.

I first interviewed Don in 2018 when forest fires and their severity were increasing nationwide. I asked if we could ever experience another disaster like the Metz fire of 1908, which destroyed thousands of acres of northeast Michigan forest and caused many deaths. Fed by gale-force winds, that fire was so violent it “Jumped” Grand Lake and reached the shore of Lake Huron only then to be extinguished.

Don was careful with his answer. He wanted to emphasize positive changes – better weather forecasting, more and better access roads that allowed improved firefighting equipment and techniques to be employed more quickly

But he was careful not to imply that a Metz-class fire could never happen again, for there are new risks: more frequent periods of intense heat and dryness, invasive species attacking woodlots and leaving forest tracts diseased, dying, and drying.

He told me that that summer (1918), the fire risk index he monitored was at its highest level for 20 continuous days – an unprecedented duration. I asked him if he thought global warming was the cause. Though Don wouldn’t use that term, he said this: “Something is going on.”

That something is going on all over the world.

All of the Boreal forests of the Earth are experiencing dramatic increases in wildfires (Boreal forests are those that circle the Earth in the northern latitudes, covering Europe, Russia, Canada, Alaska, and the northern United States). The Canadian boreal forest is the largest on Earth.

The Boreal forests in Russia’s Siberia are currently experiencing severe and widespread wildfires. Tens of thousands of hectares have burned, fueled by high temperatures and extensive drying damage from silkmoth infestations; many of these fires are burning uncontrolled.

Europe and Eurasia are experiencing increasingly severe, frequent, and synchronized “megafires” that are overwhelming their suppression efforts. They follow the most destructive wildfire season on record, when over 1 million hectares burned across the European Union alone.

As of July of this year, wildfires have scorched over 3.8 million acres in the states of California, Utah, and Colorado. This is nearly a million acres above the 10-year historic average for this point in July.

Minnesota currently has 25 wildfires burning. 70,000 acres have burned, temporarily closing the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area.

Many fires in our country burn out of control. A significant portion of them burn in areas that, like much of the Canadian forests, have no road access. These fires are not the result of our or Canadian inaction, but instead largely the result of forces beyond anyone’s control. Raking the forest is not a solution.

Don Klingler’s “Something” is a worldwide multifaceted problem.

What can be done?

“When the boreal forests of Canada catch fire, no one can do anything about it in many cases. The forests have been suffering because the planet’s thermostat is being jacked up. Wood-boring pests that flourish in milder climates have swept north and east, through tens of millions of acres. Droughts and dwindling snowpack have stressed the trees. ”

“Canada’s Forest Will Burn and Burn” Partlow, Joshua, The Atlantic (07/16/26)

But Europe is responding with a vigorous coordinated effort:

“Firefighters from across our continent share one mission: to protect people, homes and forests. — nearly 800 firefighters will be pre-positioned where the risk is highest, with aircraft ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. When fires threaten, the countries of Europe will respond as one.”

European Commission (06/2026)

Since 1989, Michigan and Canada have actively coordinated wildfire suppression in our area through the Great Lakes Forest Compact, a cooperative agreement between Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba.

Our nation and Canada have a long tradition of successful cooperative efforts. Together we are being impacted by a momentous global multifaceted problem: a “Something” that isn’t going to go away and can only be addressed by vigorous, considered, coordinated action.

To maintain otherwise is nonsense.