wildfire

my feeds are overflowing with pictures and exclamations of dismay and horror over the fires in the western US. may i offer another perspective?

ALL FIRE IS NOT BAD.

let me repeat that. all fire is not bad. one more time to let it really get past the reaction: all fire is not bad.

wildland fires are necessary and beneficial to the systems in which they occur. many of the western species cannot propagate without it. additionally, the fires consume fuel on the forest floor and recirculate nutrients back into the soil.

what's happening is scary and it's easy and understandable to react to it from a perspective of fear and anxiety. hear me on this - i understand your REACTION. we've been raised with smokey the bear telling us that, "only you can prevent forest fires." well, smokey, we need those fires, so shut the fuck up.

what we need is an appropriate and corrective RESPONSE. we are seeing the result of 150+ years of land mismanagement. these natural fires become catastrophic because there is TOO MUCH FUEL on the ground. why? because we SUPPRESS wildfires when they should be allowed to burn. if the smaller fires would be left alone, then the larger fires would occur with far less frequency and vastly reduced loss of property and life.

until we manage our lands correctly, until we realize that fire is not bad, until we focus our efforts on education and mitigation, we will continue to see these catastrophic fires. we MUST change course. we MUST allow the proper management of forests. we MUST concentrate our suppression efforts on saving lives and property. and we must use common sense when we allow the public to build homes in these fire-prone, fire-dependant ecosystems. until this happens, these catastrophic fires will not stop.

we, as land managers, must admit our mistakes, get past our professional pride and hubris, and manage our lands correctly. we MUST do this immediately.

WE MUST. THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION HERE.

in case you're wondering about my ability to speak with authority about this situation, my degrees are in forest management, with a specialty in wildfire mitigation and public perception of risk. i am happy to answer any and all questions, so please comment below and let's begin a conversation that invites calm, resolution, and change.