We want fire and not smoke.
Bad fire infernos have dominated the Western U.S. scene in recent years. They destroy fire-adapted trees, create smoke-filled thunderstorms, and force mass evacuations from fast-moving flames. In 2021, bad fire will be a major concern amid extreme heat and dryness.
The intense flames often seen in modern firefighting regimes is evidenced by footage from satellites of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These fires are caused by overcrowded and historically poorly managed forests, an unstoppable warming climate, extreme droughts, and other factors.
These are the results: Fire experts have found that raging, severe fires are more common than they were a decade ago.
Hugh Safford is a U.S. Forest Services Pacific Southwest Region regional ecologist and researcher at the University of California Davis. "What's really changing is that we are seeing more widespread and common burning," he told Mashable.
Safford explained that past fires did sometimes burn intensely in some pine forests and other areas. These fires were more scattered than the intense burning of today.
Contrary to this, California used to have millions of acres burn every year. However, these fires were healthy (good fire), and cleared overgrown forests, which in turn spawned new life. Indigenous peoples also used light fires to keep forests and other ecosystems healthy. These are the fires that Western forests require.
"The ideal is low intensity fire," Tim Brown (wildfire researcher and director at the Western Regional Climate Center) said to Mashable last week. He was referring to California's Dixie Fire which is the largest single fire (non-complex), in California history. It continues to grow. He added, "Not destructive, but high-severity incidents."
This fire regime can be difficult to control. The atmosphere is laden with heat-trapping carbon dioxide, which has been increasing for at least the next few decades. This is the primary reason for today's intense flames.
However, forests can be managed better which can, crucially limit the fuel available for burning. Mashable reported that this involves the federal, state and local governments increasing their use of intentional, prescribed fire. This is a strategy for strategic burning, which occurs often during cooler seasons. It also allows certain wildfires to burn through forests. However, this can be controversial and dangerous.
Brown stated, "If we don’t do anything to minimize hazardous fuels it’s going to burn hugely."
As such:
Fire experts stress that we naturally live in a world of fire, and it is important to embrace fire good fire.
John Bailey, a researcher in forestry at Oregon State University, observed last year that a forest was a beautiful, spiritual, and providing space. It's fuel. He said that it's fuel, and it will burn.
