Pacific Northwest wildfires burn through California carbon offset forests in Oregon and Washington

Wildfires in the Pacific Northwest are destroying forests used as carbon offsets under California's Cap and Trade program. The Box Springs Fire in Oregon and the Kaiser Canyon Complex on the Colville Reservation in Washington are burning through areas enrolled in offset projects that were supposed to permanently store carbon. The article notes that when these forests burn, the carbon is released back into the atmosphere with no penalty to the buyer or seller of the offset. The fires started after a lightning storm on July 22 and have grown rapidly. The Kaiser Canyon Complex alone has burned over 30,000 acres. The report tracks multiple fires across Oregon and Washington, including the Cottonwood Fire and the Little Giant Fire, using satellite imagery. The ongoing destruction raises questions about the durability of forest-based carbon offsets as a climate solution.