explainer – Cincy Link https://cincylink.com Explore Cincy Wed, 07 Jun 2023 04:26:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cincylink.com/pub/content/uploads/sites/27/2020/03/apple-touch-icon-precomposed-100x100.png explainer – Cincy Link https://cincylink.com 32 32 Capitol riot investigation growing 2 years later https://cincylink.com/2023/06/07/capitol-riot-investigation-growing-2-years-later/ https://cincylink.com/2023/06/07/capitol-riot-investigation-growing-2-years-later/#respond Wed, 07 Jun 2023 04:26:15 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=185921

The largest investigation in the Justice Department's history keeps growing two years after a violent mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol and challenged the foundations of American democracy. Related video above: AP Explains: Criminal referrals by the Jan. 6 panelMore than 930 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the siege on Jan. 6, 2021, and the tally increases by the week. Hundreds more people remain at large on the second anniversary of the unprecedented assault that was fueled by lies that the 2020 election was stolen.A surplus of self-incriminating videos and social media posts has made it difficult for riot suspects to present viable defenses. Federal prosecutors have a near-perfect trial record, securing a conviction in all but one case.The cases have clogged Washington's federal court, a building less than a mile from the Capitol. Virtually every weekday, judges are sentencing rioters or accepting their guilty pleas while carving out room on their dockets for trials. Already scheduled for this year are trials for about 140 riot defendants.At least 538 cases, more than half of those brought so far, have been resolved through guilty pleas, trials, dismissals or the defendant's death, according to an Associated Press review of court records. That leaves approximately 400 unresolved cases at the outset of 2023. While a House committee has wrapped up its investigation of the riot, the Justice Department's work appears to be far from done. A special counsel is overseeing two federal investigations involving Trump: one into the retention of classified documents at the former president's Florida estate and a second into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.The Jan. 6 attack as an "assault on our democracy," Attorney General Merrick Garland said."And we remain committed to doing everything in our power to prevent this from ever happening again," he said in a statement Wednesday.A look at where the prosecutions stand:___HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CHARGED?The number of defendants charged with Jan. 6-related federal crimes is approaching 1,000. They range from misdemeanor charges against people who entered the Capitol but did not engage in any violence to seditious conspiracy charges against members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups accused of violently plotting to stop the transfer of presidential power. More than 100 police officers were injured at the Capitol. More than 280 defendants have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, according to the Justice Department. The FBI is posting videos and photos of violent, destructive rioters in seeking the public's help in identifying other culprits.Investigators have used facial recognition software, license plate readers and other high-tech tools to track down some suspects. Networks of online sleuths have helped the FBI identify rioters based on digital clues. Among those still on the lam: the person who put two explosives outside the offices of the Republican and Democratic national committees before the riot. The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Metropolitan Police Department are offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Authorities have shared a staggering amount of evidence with defense lawyers — more than nine terabytes of information that would take over 100 days to view. The shared files include thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the Capitol and hundreds of hours of bodycam videos from police officers who tried to hold off the mob.___HOW MANY HAVE PLEADED GUILTY?Nearly 500 people have pleaded guilty to riot-related charges, typically hoping that cooperating could lead to a lighter punishment. About three-quarters of them pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in which the maximum sentence was either six months or one year behind bars. More than 100 of them have pleaded guilty to felony charges punishable by longer prison terms.The first person to plead guilty to a Jan. 6-related crime was Jon Ryan Schaffer, an Indiana musician who joined the Oath Keepers. Schaffer was one of at least eight Oath Keepers who pleaded guilty before the group's founder, Stewart Rhodes, and other members went to trial on seditious conspiracy charges.The Justice Department also cut plea deals with several Proud Boys members, securing their cooperation to build a case against former national leader Enrique Tarrio and other top members of the group. A New York man, Matthew Greene, was the first Proud Boys member to plead guilty to conspiring with others to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote.___HOW MANY HAVE GONE TO TRIAL?Dozens of riot defendants have elected to let juries or judges decide their fates. For the most part, they haven't fared well at trial.The Justice Department notched a high-stakes victory in November when a jury convicted Rhodes, the Oath Keepers' founder, and a Florida chapter leader of seditious conspiracy. It was the first seditious conspiracy conviction at trial in decades. Jurors acquitted three other Oath Keepers associates of the Civil War-era charge, but convicted them of other felony offenses.The next major milestone is the sedition trial of Tarrio and four other members of the Proud Boys. Jury selection in the trial of the far-right extremist group started last month.In other cases, an Ohio man who stole a coat rack from the Capitol testified that he was acting on orders from Trump when he stormed the Capitol. A New Jersey man described by prosecutors as a Nazi sympathizer claimed he didn't know that Congress met at the Capitol. A retired New York Police Department officer testified that he was defending himself when he tackled a police officer and grabbed his gas mask outside the Capitol.Those defenses fell flat. Jurors unanimously convicted all three men of every charge in their respective indictments.Federal juries have convicted at least 22 people of Jan. 6 charges. Judges have convicted an additional 24 riot defendants after hearing and deciding cases without a jury.Only one person, New Mexico resident Matthew Martin, has been acquitted of all charges after a trial. After hearing testimony without a jury, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden concluded that it was reasonable for Martin to believe that outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol through the Rotunda doors on Jan. 6.___HOW MANY HAVE BEEN SENTENCED?At least 362 riot defendants were sentenced by the end of 2022. Roughly 200 of them have received terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years. Prosecutors had recommended a jail or prison sentence in approximately 300 of those 362 cases. Retired New York Police Department Officer Thomas Webster has received the longest prison sentence. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who sentenced Webster to a decade in prison, also presided over the first Oath Keepers sedition trial and will sentence Rhodes and Rhodes' convicted associates.Webster is one of 34 riot defendants who has received a prison sentence of at least three years. More than half of them, including Webster, assaulted police officers at the Capitol.The riot resulted in more than $2.7 million in damage. So far, judges have ordered roughly 350 convicted rioters to collectively pay nearly $280,00 in restitution. More than 100 rioters have been ordered to pay over $241,000 in total fines.Judges also have ordered dozens of rioters to serve terms of home detention ranging from two weeks to one year — usually instead of jail time — and to collectively perform more than 14,000 hours of community service.

The largest investigation in the Justice Department's history keeps growing two years after a violent mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol and challenged the foundations of American democracy.

Related video above: AP Explains: Criminal referrals by the Jan. 6 panel

More than 930 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the siege on Jan. 6, 2021, and the tally increases by the week. Hundreds more people remain at large on the second anniversary of the unprecedented assault that was fueled by lies that the 2020 election was stolen.

A surplus of self-incriminating videos and social media posts has made it difficult for riot suspects to present viable defenses. Federal prosecutors have a near-perfect trial record, securing a conviction in all but one case.

The cases have clogged Washington's federal court, a building less than a mile from the Capitol. Virtually every weekday, judges are sentencing rioters or accepting their guilty pleas while carving out room on their dockets for trials. Already scheduled for this year are trials for about 140 riot defendants.

At least 538 cases, more than half of those brought so far, have been resolved through guilty pleas, trials, dismissals or the defendant's death, according to an Associated Press review of court records. That leaves approximately 400 unresolved cases at the outset of 2023.

While a House committee has wrapped up its investigation of the riot, the Justice Department's work appears to be far from done. A special counsel is overseeing two federal investigations involving Trump: one into the retention of classified documents at the former president's Florida estate and a second into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The Jan. 6 attack as an "assault on our democracy," Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

"And we remain committed to doing everything in our power to prevent this from ever happening again," he said in a statement Wednesday.

A look at where the prosecutions stand:

___

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CHARGED?

The number of defendants charged with Jan. 6-related federal crimes is approaching 1,000. They range from misdemeanor charges against people who entered the Capitol but did not engage in any violence to seditious conspiracy charges against members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups accused of violently plotting to stop the transfer of presidential power.

More than 100 police officers were injured at the Capitol. More than 280 defendants have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, according to the Justice Department. The FBI is posting videos and photos of violent, destructive rioters in seeking the public's help in identifying other culprits.

Investigators have used facial recognition software, license plate readers and other high-tech tools to track down some suspects. Networks of online sleuths have helped the FBI identify rioters based on digital clues.

Among those still on the lam: the person who put two explosives outside the offices of the Republican and Democratic national committees before the riot. The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Metropolitan Police Department are offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Authorities have shared a staggering amount of evidence with defense lawyers — more than nine terabytes of information that would take over 100 days to view. The shared files include thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the Capitol and hundreds of hours of bodycam videos from police officers who tried to hold off the mob.

___

HOW MANY HAVE PLEADED GUILTY?

Nearly 500 people have pleaded guilty to riot-related charges, typically hoping that cooperating could lead to a lighter punishment.

About three-quarters of them pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in which the maximum sentence was either six months or one year behind bars. More than 100 of them have pleaded guilty to felony charges punishable by longer prison terms.

The first person to plead guilty to a Jan. 6-related crime was Jon Ryan Schaffer, an Indiana musician who joined the Oath Keepers. Schaffer was one of at least eight Oath Keepers who pleaded guilty before the group's founder, Stewart Rhodes, and other members went to trial on seditious conspiracy charges.

The Justice Department also cut plea deals with several Proud Boys members, securing their cooperation to build a case against former national leader Enrique Tarrio and other top members of the group. A New York man, Matthew Greene, was the first Proud Boys member to plead guilty to conspiring with others to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote.

___

HOW MANY HAVE GONE TO TRIAL?

Dozens of riot defendants have elected to let juries or judges decide their fates. For the most part, they haven't fared well at trial.

The Justice Department notched a high-stakes victory in November when a jury convicted Rhodes, the Oath Keepers' founder, and a Florida chapter leader of seditious conspiracy. It was the first seditious conspiracy conviction at trial in decades. Jurors acquitted three other Oath Keepers associates of the Civil War-era charge, but convicted them of other felony offenses.

The next major milestone is the sedition trial of Tarrio and four other members of the Proud Boys. Jury selection in the trial of the far-right extremist group started last month.

In other cases, an Ohio man who stole a coat rack from the Capitol testified that he was acting on orders from Trump when he stormed the Capitol. A New Jersey man described by prosecutors as a Nazi sympathizer claimed he didn't know that Congress met at the Capitol. A retired New York Police Department officer testified that he was defending himself when he tackled a police officer and grabbed his gas mask outside the Capitol.

Those defenses fell flat. Jurors unanimously convicted all three men of every charge in their respective indictments.

Federal juries have convicted at least 22 people of Jan. 6 charges. Judges have convicted an additional 24 riot defendants after hearing and deciding cases without a jury.

Only one person, New Mexico resident Matthew Martin, has been acquitted of all charges after a trial. After hearing testimony without a jury, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden concluded that it was reasonable for Martin to believe that outnumbered police officers allowed him and others to enter the Capitol through the Rotunda doors on Jan. 6.

___

HOW MANY HAVE BEEN SENTENCED?

At least 362 riot defendants were sentenced by the end of 2022. Roughly 200 of them have received terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years. Prosecutors had recommended a jail or prison sentence in approximately 300 of those 362 cases.

Retired New York Police Department Officer Thomas Webster has received the longest prison sentence. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who sentenced Webster to a decade in prison, also presided over the first Oath Keepers sedition trial and will sentence Rhodes and Rhodes' convicted associates.

Webster is one of 34 riot defendants who has received a prison sentence of at least three years. More than half of them, including Webster, assaulted police officers at the Capitol.

The riot resulted in more than $2.7 million in damage. So far, judges have ordered roughly 350 convicted rioters to collectively pay nearly $280,00 in restitution. More than 100 rioters have been ordered to pay over $241,000 in total fines.

Judges also have ordered dozens of rioters to serve terms of home detention ranging from two weeks to one year — usually instead of jail time — and to collectively perform more than 14,000 hours of community service.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2023/06/07/capitol-riot-investigation-growing-2-years-later/feed/ 0 What’s the deal with the Second Amendment? https://cincylink.com/2021/11/03/whats-the-deal-with-the-second-amendment/ https://cincylink.com/2021/11/03/whats-the-deal-with-the-second-amendment/#respond Wed, 03 Nov 2021 04:47:23 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=111285

What's the deal with the Second Amendment?



what's the deal with the Second Amendment. The debate over the right to bear arms is about as old as America itself and grammar could be the key to understanding the Second amendment of the constitution is a doozy of a sentence. So here it goes, a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 27 words, three commas two clauses that have been open for a lot of interpretation and that's going to be important in a minute. But first we need context and for that. You gotta go all the way back to the american revolution. Militias made up of men protecting their towns and colonies helped to defeat the bigger and better organized british military. A couple of years later, when the founding fathers crafted the constitution, they made sure to add the right to bear arms with a focus on militias. It was a way to make sure that the people could help protect the growing nation from external threats and also from potential government tyranny at home. But here's the thing, the way that the amendment is written has paved the way for some important questions like what did the framers mean by militia or do individual citizens have the right to have a gun? The Supreme Court weighed in on that in 2008 in the majority opinion. Justice, antonin Scalia wrote that the Second Amendment does indeed protect the individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia. The reason takes us back to grammar, remember I said, that will be important. And here's why the court decided that what's called the operative clause is really the heart of the amendment, The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The other part, the preparatory is the purpose, a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of the Free State. Now, the court says that might be the reason the Founding Fathers created the Amendment, but it doesn't have to be its only purpose. It's why a citizen can bear arms in this case to defend their homes. Now, it does leave the door open for Congress and the states to pass laws like ones limiting the age of possession or laws that make it almost impossible for civilians to own certain types of firearms. Guns can also be banned from places like churches and from schools. But the extent of those limits is still open for debate. It's one that is likely to be settled. You guessed it in the courts, And that is the deal of the 2nd amendment. Yeah.

What's the deal with the Second Amendment?


Watch the video above for a deeper look at the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment and why grammar could be key to understanding the debate behind it.

Watch the video above for a deeper look at the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment and why grammar could be key to understanding the debate behind it.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/11/03/whats-the-deal-with-the-second-amendment/feed/ 0 Is Facebook going to sue whistleblower Frances Haugen? https://cincylink.com/2021/10/10/is-facebook-going-to-sue-whistleblower-frances-haugen/ https://cincylink.com/2021/10/10/is-facebook-going-to-sue-whistleblower-frances-haugen/#respond Sun, 10 Oct 2021 04:19:31 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=102403

Video above: Facebook exec responds to whistleblower testimonyFacebook has recently taken a harsher tone toward whistleblower Frances Haugen, suggesting that the social network could be considering legal retaliation after Haugen went public with internal research that she copied before leaving her job earlier this year. U.S. law protects whistleblowers who disclose information about potential misconduct to the government. But that protection doesn't necessarily cover taking corporate secrets to the media.Facebook still has to walk a fine line. The company has to weigh whether suing Haugen, which could dissuade other employees who might otherwise speak out, is worth casting itself as a legal Godzilla willing to stomp on a woman who says she's just doing the right thing.Haugen may face other consequences. Whistleblowers often put themselves at risk of professional damage — other firms may be reluctant to hire them in the future — and personal attacks from being in the public eye.Facebook did not respond to emailed questions.WHAT DID HAUGEN DO? Haugen secretly copied a trove of internal Facebook documents before leaving the company and subsequently had her lawyers file complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that Facebook hides what it knows about the negative effects of its platform. John Tye, her lawyer, said the team gave redacted documents to Congress, where Haugen testified on Tuesday, and also informed officials in California. Haugen also shared documents with the Wall Street Journal, which she started talking to in December, leading to a series of explosive stories that began in mid-September.WHAT WAS FACEBOOK'S RESPONSE?The company says it has been mischaracterized. "I think most of us just don't recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted," CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote to employees on Tuesday.Some company officials have also begun using harsher language to describe Haugen's actions that could be interpreted as threatening.In an Associated Press interview Thursday, Facebook executive Monika Bickert repeatedly referred to the documents Haugen copied as "stolen," a word she has also used in other media interviews. David Colapinto, a lawyer for Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto who specializes in whistleblower cases, said that language was threatening.In the same interview, asked if Facebook would sue or retaliate against the whistleblower, Bickert said only, "I can't answer that."A week earlier, Antigone Davis, Facebook's head of global safety, testified in the Senate that Facebook "would never retaliate against someone for speaking to Congress," which left open the possibility that the company might go after her for giving documents to the Journal.IS HAUGEN PROTECTED?Various laws offer whistleblower protection at both the state and federal levels. The federal laws applicable to Haugen are the Dodd-Frank Act, a 2010 Wall Street reform law, and the Sarbanes Oxley Act, a 2002 law that followed the collapse of Enron and other accounting scandals. Dodd-Frank expanded protections for whistleblowers and empowered the SEC to take action against a company that threatens a whistleblower. Protections exist for both employees and former employees, experts say.Asked about her risk because she went to the media, Haugen's lawyer, Tye, maintains that because Haugen went to the SEC, Congress and state authorities, she's entitled to whistleblower protections. He said any suit from Facebook would be "frivolous" and that Facebook has not been in touch.WHAT ABOUT HER LEAKS TO THE MEDIA?Courts haven't tested whether leaking to the media is protected under Dodd-Frank, but Colapinto said the U.S. Secretary of Labor determined decades ago that environmental and nuclear-safety whistleblowers' communications with the media were protected. He argues that the language of Sarbanes-Oxley is modeled on those earlier statutes, and Haugen should have the same protections for any of her communications with reporters. Facebook could allege that Haugen broke her nondisclosure agreement by sharing company documents with the press, leaking trade secrets or just by making comments Facebook considers defamatory, said Lisa Banks of Katz, Marshall and Banks, who has worked on whistleblower cases for decades. "Like many whistleblowers, she's extraordinarily brave and puts herself at personal and professional risk in shining a light on these practices," she said.Haugen effectively used leaks to the media to turn up the pressure on Congress and government regulators. Colapinto said her disclosures had a public-interest purpose that could complicate enforcing the NDA if Facebook chose to do so.COULD FACEBOOK FACE BLOWBACK?Facebook probably wants its veiled threats to unnerve other employees or former employees who might be tempted to speak out. "If they go after her, it won't be because they necessarily think they have a strong case legally, but sending a message to other would-be whistleblowers that they intend to play hardball," Banks said. But she said it would be a "disaster" for Facebook to go after Haugen. Regardless of potential legal vulnerabilities, Facebook might look like a bully if it pursued a legal case against her."The last thing Facebook needs is to rouse the ire of governmental authorities and the public at large by playing the role of the big bad giant company against the courageous individual whistleblower," said Neil Getnick, whose firm, Getnick and Getnick, represents whistleblowers.

Video above: Facebook exec responds to whistleblower testimony

Facebook has recently taken a harsher tone toward whistleblower Frances Haugen, suggesting that the social network could be considering legal retaliation after Haugen went public with internal research that she copied before leaving her job earlier this year.

U.S. law protects whistleblowers who disclose information about potential misconduct to the government. But that protection doesn't necessarily cover taking corporate secrets to the media.

Facebook still has to walk a fine line. The company has to weigh whether suing Haugen, which could dissuade other employees who might otherwise speak out, is worth casting itself as a legal Godzilla willing to stomp on a woman who says she's just doing the right thing.

Haugen may face other consequences. Whistleblowers often put themselves at risk of professional damage — other firms may be reluctant to hire them in the future — and personal attacks from being in the public eye.

Facebook did not respond to emailed questions.

WHAT DID HAUGEN DO?

Haugen secretly copied a trove of internal Facebook documents before leaving the company and subsequently had her lawyers file complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that Facebook hides what it knows about the negative effects of its platform.

John Tye, her lawyer, said the team gave redacted documents to Congress, where Haugen testified on Tuesday, and also informed officials in California. Haugen also shared documents with the Wall Street Journal, which she started talking to in December, leading to a series of explosive stories that began in mid-September.

WHAT WAS FACEBOOK'S RESPONSE?

The company says it has been mischaracterized. "I think most of us just don't recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted," CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote to employees on Tuesday.

Some company officials have also begun using harsher language to describe Haugen's actions that could be interpreted as threatening.

In an Associated Press interview Thursday, Facebook executive Monika Bickert repeatedly referred to the documents Haugen copied as "stolen," a word she has also used in other media interviews. David Colapinto, a lawyer for Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto who specializes in whistleblower cases, said that language was threatening.

In the same interview, asked if Facebook would sue or retaliate against the whistleblower, Bickert said only, "I can't answer that."

A week earlier, Antigone Davis, Facebook's head of global safety, testified in the Senate that Facebook "would never retaliate against someone for speaking to Congress," which left open the possibility that the company might go after her for giving documents to the Journal.

IS HAUGEN PROTECTED?

Various laws offer whistleblower protection at both the state and federal levels. The federal laws applicable to Haugen are the Dodd-Frank Act, a 2010 Wall Street reform law, and the Sarbanes Oxley Act, a 2002 law that followed the collapse of Enron and other accounting scandals.

Dodd-Frank expanded protections for whistleblowers and empowered the SEC to take action against a company that threatens a whistleblower. Protections exist for both employees and former employees, experts say.

Asked about her risk because she went to the media, Haugen's lawyer, Tye, maintains that because Haugen went to the SEC, Congress and state authorities, she's entitled to whistleblower protections. He said any suit from Facebook would be "frivolous" and that Facebook has not been in touch.

WHAT ABOUT HER LEAKS TO THE MEDIA?

Courts haven't tested whether leaking to the media is protected under Dodd-Frank, but Colapinto said the U.S. Secretary of Labor determined decades ago that environmental and nuclear-safety whistleblowers' communications with the media were protected. He argues that the language of Sarbanes-Oxley is modeled on those earlier statutes, and Haugen should have the same protections for any of her communications with reporters.

Facebook could allege that Haugen broke her nondisclosure agreement by sharing company documents with the press, leaking trade secrets or just by making comments Facebook considers defamatory, said Lisa Banks of Katz, Marshall and Banks, who has worked on whistleblower cases for decades. "Like many whistleblowers, she's extraordinarily brave and puts herself at personal and professional risk in shining a light on these practices," she said.

Haugen effectively used leaks to the media to turn up the pressure on Congress and government regulators. Colapinto said her disclosures had a public-interest purpose that could complicate enforcing the NDA if Facebook chose to do so.

COULD FACEBOOK FACE BLOWBACK?

Facebook probably wants its veiled threats to unnerve other employees or former employees who might be tempted to speak out. "If they go after her, it won't be because they necessarily think they have a strong case legally, but sending a message to other would-be whistleblowers that they intend to play hardball," Banks said.

But she said it would be a "disaster" for Facebook to go after Haugen. Regardless of potential legal vulnerabilities, Facebook might look like a bully if it pursued a legal case against her.

"The last thing Facebook needs is to rouse the ire of governmental authorities and the public at large by playing the role of the big bad giant company against the courageous individual whistleblower," said Neil Getnick, whose firm, Getnick and Getnick, represents whistleblowers.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/10/10/is-facebook-going-to-sue-whistleblower-frances-haugen/feed/ 0 Why does it takes months to put out some wildfires? https://cincylink.com/2021/08/22/why-does-it-takes-months-to-put-out-some-wildfires/ https://cincylink.com/2021/08/22/why-does-it-takes-months-to-put-out-some-wildfires/#respond Sun, 22 Aug 2021 04:17:56 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=83905

Video above: California wildfires force thousands to fleeAt nearly every community meeting on firefighting efforts in the U.S. West, residents want to know why crews don't simply put out the flames to save their homes and the valuable forests surrounding them. It's not that simple, wildfire managers say, and the reasons are many, some of them decades in the making and tied to climate change. The cumulative result has been an increase in gigantic wildfires with extreme and unpredictable behavior threatening communities that in some instances didn't exist a few decades ago. "How do we balance that risk to allow firefighters to be successful without transferring too much of that risk to the public?" said Evans Kuo, a "Type 1" incident commander assigned to the nation's biggest and most dangerous wildfires. "I wish it wasn't the case, but it's a zero-sum game."More than 20,000 wildland firefighters are battling some 100 large wildfires in the U.S West. Their goal is "containment," meaning a fuel break has been built around the entire fire using natural barriers or manmade lines, often created with bulldozers or ground crews with hand tools.Estimated containment dates for some wildfires now burning aren't until October or November.WHY SO LONG?A big concern is safety. Kuo said residents sometimes plead with him to send firefighters into areas where he knows they could get killed."That's a deal-breaker," he said on a day off after 18 straight days of 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. shifts on a wildfire in Washington state. "I'm not putting people at risk."Actually putting out these large fires, or labeling them "controlled," will require cold weather combined with rain or snow, weeks away for many states."I'd say pray for rain because that's the only thing that's going to get us out of this fire season," Idaho's state forester, Craig Foss, told Republican Gov. Brad Little and other state officials this week during a discussion of the wildfire season.HAVE WILDFIRES CHANGED?Kuo has been fighting wildfires for 30 years with the U.S. Forest Service, spending the first part of his career as a frontline firefighter with groundcrews, the backbone of any effort to stop a wildfire. At the time, wildfires of 150 square miles (390 square kilometers) were uncommon. Now blazes reach fives times that size and more, getting large enough to create their own weather."That's kind of redefining what the new normal is," said Kuo. "We get these megafires."IS WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION IN THE PAST PLAYING A ROLE NOW?For much of the last century, firefighters had been mostly successful at suppressing wildfires in ecosystems that evolved to rely on wildfire. Early on, firefighters benefitted from forests that had already been periodically cleared of brush and debris by wildfires that could move through every couple of decades. But with fire suppression, experts say, that brush and debris accumulated to where now, wildfires can ladder up into the branches and into the crowns of large trees, creating the giant wildfires that kill entire swatches of a forest.HOW HAS DROUGHT IMPACTED WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION?On top of fire suppression have been several decades of drought that studies link to human-caused climate change. That's exacerbated by this year's hot and dry weather, leading to historically low moisture contents in forests that have become tinder-dry."Our protection districts are seeing far warmer and dryer than normal conditions creating historically dry fuels," said Dustin Miller, director of the Idaho Department of Lands. Those dry fuels allow wildfires to spread more quickly. On big fires, embers can shoot out to start spot fires on the other sides of natural barriers such as rivers. Sometimes spot fires can put firefighters at risk of being trapped by flames in front and behind them.Miller said the state is likely facing $100 million in costs to fight fires this year on land the state is responsible for protecting, which is mostly state forests but also includes some federal and private forests.WHAT ABOUT DISEASE AND INSECT INFESTATION?Disease and bug infestations in trees whose defenses have been weakened by drought have led to forest-wide epidemics that have killed millions of trees in the U.S. West. Those dead trees, called snags, become fuel for wildfires while at the same time posing an increased danger to firefighters who can be hit by falling branches or the unstable trees themselves.ARE MORE HOMES IN WILD AREAS AN ISSUE?Homes built in what firefighters call the wildland-urban interface pose special problems for firefighters, typically tying up many firefighters on structure protection rather than have them actively engaging a wildfire."We base our strategy and tactics on protecting values at risk," Kuo said. "Homes, subdivisions, communications towers, gas pipelines, railways and roadways, transmission lines." He said homes built with defensible space helps. More people in forested areas, as well as people recreating, has led to more human-caused wildfires. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise says humans cause about 87% of all wildfires each year.Related video above: California camp spared from wildfire's destructionARE THERE ENOUGH FIREFIGHTERS?The nation has just more than 20 Type 1 response teams to handle the nation's biggest wildfires fires, and Kuo and his colleagues on those teams, like just about every other firefighting position this year, are in short supply. He and his crew agreed to work longer than their 14-day shift on the Washington fire to make sure another Type 1 crew would be available. Another problem is lengthening wildfire seasons mean many seasonal firefighters leave for school well before wildfire season ends. Josh Harvey, fire management bureau chief for the Lands Department, said about 30% of the state's firefighters head back to school. Overall, Harvey said there have been widespread shortages of firefighters, fire engines and logistical support, and the state can no longer rely on help from neighboring states or federal partners. There have even been occasional shortages of jet fuel for retardant bombers in some states."We've never seen anything like it before," Harvey said. "We are living and making fire history right now."

Video above: California wildfires force thousands to flee

At nearly every community meeting on firefighting efforts in the U.S. West, residents want to know why crews don't simply put out the flames to save their homes and the valuable forests surrounding them.

It's not that simple, wildfire managers say, and the reasons are many, some of them decades in the making and tied to climate change. The cumulative result has been an increase in gigantic wildfires with extreme and unpredictable behavior threatening communities that in some instances didn't exist a few decades ago.

"How do we balance that risk to allow firefighters to be successful without transferring too much of that risk to the public?" said Evans Kuo, a "Type 1" incident commander assigned to the nation's biggest and most dangerous wildfires. "I wish it wasn't the case, but it's a zero-sum game."

More than 20,000 wildland firefighters are battling some 100 large wildfires in the U.S West. Their goal is "containment," meaning a fuel break has been built around the entire fire using natural barriers or manmade lines, often created with bulldozers or ground crews with hand tools.

Estimated containment dates for some wildfires now burning aren't until October or November.

WHY SO LONG?

A big concern is safety. Kuo said residents sometimes plead with him to send firefighters into areas where he knows they could get killed.

"That's a deal-breaker," he said on a day off after 18 straight days of 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. shifts on a wildfire in Washington state. "I'm not putting people at risk."

Actually putting out these large fires, or labeling them "controlled," will require cold weather combined with rain or snow, weeks away for many states.

"I'd say pray for rain because that's the only thing that's going to get us out of this fire season," Idaho's state forester, Craig Foss, told Republican Gov. Brad Little and other state officials this week during a discussion of the wildfire season.

HAVE WILDFIRES CHANGED?

Kuo has been fighting wildfires for 30 years with the U.S. Forest Service, spending the first part of his career as a frontline firefighter with groundcrews, the backbone of any effort to stop a wildfire. At the time, wildfires of 150 square miles (390 square kilometers) were uncommon. Now blazes reach fives times that size and more, getting large enough to create their own weather.

"That's kind of redefining what the new normal is," said Kuo. "We get these megafires."

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2021, file photo, seen in a long exposure photograph, embers light up hillsides as the Dixie Fire burns near Milford in Lassen County, Calif. Wildfire managers are often asked why firefighters simply don&apos&#x3B;t put out the flames to save their homes and the valuable forests surrounding them. It&apos&#x3B;s not that simple, wildfire managers say, and the reasons are many, some of them decades in the making. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

Noah Berger

In this Aug. 17, 2021, photo, embers light up hillsides as the Dixie Fire burns near Milford in Lassen County, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

IS WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION IN THE PAST PLAYING A ROLE NOW?

For much of the last century, firefighters had been mostly successful at suppressing wildfires in ecosystems that evolved to rely on wildfire. Early on, firefighters benefitted from forests that had already been periodically cleared of brush and debris by wildfires that could move through every couple of decades. But with fire suppression, experts say, that brush and debris accumulated to where now, wildfires can ladder up into the branches and into the crowns of large trees, creating the giant wildfires that kill entire swatches of a forest.

HOW HAS DROUGHT IMPACTED WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION?

On top of fire suppression have been several decades of drought that studies link to human-caused climate change. That's exacerbated by this year's hot and dry weather, leading to historically low moisture contents in forests that have become tinder-dry.

"Our protection districts are seeing far warmer and dryer than normal conditions creating historically dry fuels," said Dustin Miller, director of the Idaho Department of Lands.

Those dry fuels allow wildfires to spread more quickly. On big fires, embers can shoot out to start spot fires on the other sides of natural barriers such as rivers. Sometimes spot fires can put firefighters at risk of being trapped by flames in front and behind them.

Miller said the state is likely facing $100 million in costs to fight fires this year on land the state is responsible for protecting, which is mostly state forests but also includes some federal and private forests.

WHAT ABOUT DISEASE AND INSECT INFESTATION?

Disease and bug infestations in trees whose defenses have been weakened by drought have led to forest-wide epidemics that have killed millions of trees in the U.S. West. Those dead trees, called snags, become fuel for wildfires while at the same time posing an increased danger to firefighters who can be hit by falling branches or the unstable trees themselves.

ARE MORE HOMES IN WILD AREAS AN ISSUE?

Homes built in what firefighters call the wildland-urban interface pose special problems for firefighters, typically tying up many firefighters on structure protection rather than have them actively engaging a wildfire.

"We base our strategy and tactics on protecting values at risk," Kuo said. "Homes, subdivisions, communications towers, gas pipelines, railways and roadways, transmission lines."

He said homes built with defensible space helps. More people in forested areas, as well as people recreating, has led to more human-caused wildfires. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise says humans cause about 87% of all wildfires each year.

Related video above: California camp spared from wildfire's destruction

ARE THERE ENOUGH FIREFIGHTERS?

The nation has just more than 20 Type 1 response teams to handle the nation's biggest wildfires fires, and Kuo and his colleagues on those teams, like just about every other firefighting position this year, are in short supply.

He and his crew agreed to work longer than their 14-day shift on the Washington fire to make sure another Type 1 crew would be available.

Another problem is lengthening wildfire seasons mean many seasonal firefighters leave for school well before wildfire season ends.

Josh Harvey, fire management bureau chief for the Lands Department, said about 30% of the state's firefighters head back to school. Overall, Harvey said there have been widespread shortages of firefighters, fire engines and logistical support, and the state can no longer rely on help from neighboring states or federal partners.

There have even been occasional shortages of jet fuel for retardant bombers in some states.

"We've never seen anything like it before," Harvey said. "We are living and making fire history right now."


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