Forest Service also stops 'Good Fires,' even when there are extreme fires.Click to enlarge the image and toggle caption National Park Service National Park ServiceThe U.S. Forest Service has announced that it will be aggressively putting out wildfires in the West this summer, despite the drought conditions. The agency will no longer use "good fire," which are lower-intensity blazes that clear overgrown forests.Federal officials claim that no one is spared in fire prevention efforts, as thousands of firefighters are fighting extreme blazes. Some fire scientists are concerned that the blanket rule will remove the most crucial tools foresters have for reducing wildfire risk in the future, even in areas where they may not be needed.Crystal Kolden, University of California, Merced fire scientist, says, "It's a difficult decision, I think," "The problem with political pressure is that it is not based upon good science."Overgrown forests are fueling many wildfires in the West. This dense vegetation, which has been suppressed for over 100 years, is causing many fires. The Forest Service has been working to decrease that risk in recent years by using fire proactively.Prescribed burns are controlled fires where foresters remove vegetation and brush but do not kill mature trees. The agency has now stopped using them. It is also suspending "managed wildfires to resource benefit" where natural fires are allowed to burn in remote areas that don't pose any risk to the public.In a letter, Chief Forest Service Randy Moore stated that the Forest Service is in a "triage mode" where we must focus on fires that are threatening communities and infrastructure. "When western fire activity ceases, we will resume to use all the tools in this toolbox."Wildfires are under increasing political pressureSince the Tamarack Fire, which erupted south of Lake Tahoe in July and destroyed at least 14 homes, pressure has mounted on the agency. The Forest Service did not send any firemen to the scene after it was ignited by lightning in the high mountains. This was due to safety concerns about the remoteness of this location. Winds drove the fire to Markleeville after it had burned for over a week.Although the Tamarack Fire wasn't considered a managed fire to benefit the ecosystems, Governor Gavin Newsom of California called for a policy shift.Click to enlarge this picture toggle caption SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett SOPA Images/LightRocket Via GettNewsom stated to President Biden, "We need your support to change the culture regarding the suppression strategies, in the climate literally and metaphorically to be more aggressive against these federal fires."The Biden Administration quickly responded.Newsom was told last week by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that "we have to have more boots in the ground." "And I promise to you and pledge to you that this will happen."Start the wildfire on the roadHowever, some forest ecologists are concerned about the suspension. They say that with millions of acres of overgrown forest, the agency cannot afford to lose more time in reducing the West's fire risk.Kolden states, "If we stop managed wildfire now then we're kicking down the road for fuels to burn which may burn in even hotter or drier conditions."Although summertime fires aren’t permitted in all Western forests (except for those that are used during the summer), banning beneficial fires may limit the area the Forest Service reduces each year. This could leave overgrowth that could be the fuel for more dangerous fires.Notes Extreme fires were detected in Northern California in the early hours of August. This was captured by NASA's GOES-17 satellite.The Forest Service can use summer in California to perform prescribed burns and other treatments. According to public data, the agency burned almost 13,000 acres between June and September 2019.Wildfires that are naturally started in summer can also be sparked by lightning strikes in wilderness areas. The Forest Service established a policy in 2009 to allow wildfires to spread more widely, particularly where terrain is too remote to burn.The Forest Service managed wildfires on over 270,000 acres in the Southwest in 2020 to help the ecosystem. Because of the summer monsoon rains, managed wildfires are a valuable strategy in this part of the country. They reduce the chance of fires getting out of control. The policy is controversial because managed wildfires can sometimes escape, posing a threat to homes and other people.The West U.S. has a fire deficitThis approach to controlling and managing wildfires has prevented extremes in areas where federal agencies have finished their work. The fires are less intense in these areas because there is less vegetation. This was evident in the Rim Fire in Yosemite National Park in 2013.Mike Beasley, a retired fireman who served for the National Park Service as well as the Forest Service for many decades, says that "every time I've been out on large wildfires, the only thing that has moderated the fire spread has been past fire footprints in the landscape."Despite recent record-breaking wildfires, the Western U.S. has a significant fire deficit. Every year millions of acres were once set on fire by Native American tribes or lightning. These low-grade fires had been a part of forest ecosystems for millennia. But that all changed with the advent of fire suppression. The Forest Service was active in stopping all fires for a large part of the past century. They adopted the "10am rule" which required that fires be out by 10 a.m. the next day.This policy was instrumental in triggering extreme wildfires, which are burning hotter than forests are used to and more intensely.Click to enlarge the image and toggle caption National Park Service National Park ServiceKeala Hagmann from the University of Washington, research ecologist, says that "the amount of fuel that has been built up over this time period is greater than anything these forests experienced in recent millennia." "We have the tools to alter the way these fires burn and the window of opportunity for change is closing quickly."California has nearly 20% of California's forested land, which amounts to 20 million acres. This state needs some fuel reduction. California and the Forest Service signed an agreement last year to reduce the vegetation on 1,000,000 acres per year. However, the goal remains far away. Projects were only carried out on 100,000 acres in 2019.A hotter climate increases fire risk and reduces the chances of it being reducedMany firefighters are working on wildfires in very dry conditions. Some believe this is why the policy shift was necessary to preserve communities and keep more homes burning."Governor Newsom supports science of 'good flames'," Newsom's spokesperson said by email. "But there is no good fire in atrocious conditions and that's exactly what the west states are experiencing now.As the climate heats up, more severe droughts are occurring in the Western U.S. After months of fighting extreme fires, firefighters are no longer available to help with prescribed burning.Kolden states, "The problem here is that it's so easy to say: With climate change, we shouldn’t do this anymore." "But this is a fire suppression mentality, and that's what got me into this mess in the first place."Experts in fire say the West will need to have a more intense approach to 'good fire' to stop the recent record-breaking fires. Community members must create a safe space by reducing the flammable vegetation and adopt wildfire building codes.Beasley says, "I am afraid for the future." It's going be such a hot topic. They will choose the least risk route, which is going to be suppressing. We need to be ready for the possibility that this won't work in every case.
