In the United States, the forest fire season in California's Santa Ana has begun and will run through April. As hot and dry autumn winds are raising the risk of fire along the coast, officials have developed a radical plan to keep the blazes at bay. But environmentalists say it will do more harm than good. CGTN's Phil Lavelle reports from the town of Big Bear in Southern California.

There's plenty of forest in California. It's a metaphorical tinderbox. And It's that time of year again. Fire season. Blazes that are both regular. Yet unpredictable. So now a drastic proposal here.

PHIL LAVELLE BIG BEAR, CALIFORNIA  "To reduce the risk, by reducing the number of trees. Thinning of dense forests - logging. Controversial, of course, but necessary?"

"Absolutely not. Logging actually increases the rate and spread of fire most of the time."

About a third of California is covered by forests. Most of it, Government property. Last year saw the most destructive, the deadliest, wildfire season in history here and nobody wants that record to be topped.

PHIL LAVELLE BIG BEAR, CALIFORNIA "According to the US Forest Service, California has 129 million dead trees - partly because of the state of drought this place constantly seems to be in. Officials say it's a recipe for disaster. And now, for the first time in decades, the Government's going to allow healthy pine trees to be logged claiming they're part of the problem."

PHIL: "Is it going to reduce the risk?"

CHAD HANSON ECOLOGIST, 'THE JOHN MUIR PROJECT' "No. Actually logging increases fire intensity and spread. In reality, when you take away trees, fires move through the forest faster because there are fewer trees to cut down on the wind speeds and so actually it increases the rate of spread. The other thing is that when forests are logged, you get more sunlight reaching the forest floor and that creates hotter, drier conditions."

The President has directly linked the clearing of trees to fire prevention. But many wonder if this is a fire issue - or a political one. Because logging's a deeply divisive subject here. California's timber laws - among the most stringent in the country.

"All of the lumber's coming out of the northwest - Oregon, Washington, Canada."

And timber harvesting has been dropping sharply here since the nineties because of environmental concerns.

PHIL: "Some of the voices in the timber industry are thinking this is great - would you echo that?"

RICK WHITE TIMBER FRAMER, LARRABURE FRAMING "I would echo those sentiments because I think that opening up the forest for business is principally a good thing. However, I think that it's important that they be good stewards of the land and be good stewards of the materials."

PHIL: "Is there any particular benefit for you or your industry in getting your timber from California as opposed to other places?"

"I think that if we can get timber from California, certainly that would help the pricing. Can we get the quantity that we need that benefits the construction industry? I'm not sure of that."

And so as many in this industry look to Californian timber, many in California will be looking at whether logging does lead to a safer environment after all. But all agreeing that something needs to be done to keep nature's worst at bay. Phil Lavelle, CGTN, Big Bear, California.