"Oakland given $4 million to cut trees" Associated Press June 04, 2015
OAKLAND, Calif. — City officials accepted a $4 million federal grant to chop down trees in the ritzy Oakland hills, a decision that ignited debate over how best to prevent deadly wildfires in the affluent Northern California region like the one that whipped through the hills in 1991. That blaze killed 25 people and destroyed nearly 3,500 homes. How best to reduce the danger has been a source of heated debate since the 1991 firestorm.
Some residents and environmentalists argue that low-lying brush, so-called ground fuel, is the primary concern rather than the 500,000 eucalyptus trees dotting the hills. Hills Conservation Network, an environmental group, has filed a federal lawsuit to scuttle the tree-cutting project.
Dan Grassetti, president of the network, said the public is ‘‘outraged that elected officials ignored Oakland residents’’ who oppose the project....
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Seems like a good time to cut it; I'll be leafing through the pristine and as of yet unread Globe this afternoon as well as preparing posts for tomorrow.
