Fighting fire with fire


Regular burns of forests in the American West historically occurred naturally or as a forest management tactic by Indigenous people, but suppressing all fires has been the predominant policy for well over a century. As a result, what would be small fires that benefit flora and fauna have turned into giant, uncontrolled wildfires that feed off uncleared brush and deadwood. The Forest Service and others use prescribed burns, in fairly limited ways at this point, to prevent bigger fires in the future. More could be done but budgets are consumed fighting the many uncontrolled wildfires.

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