Wildland Fires In California

Have you ever thought about wildland fires? Maybe what caused them or how they can be prevented? In the forest service today fire is a big problem. Yes it is true fire can be good for the forest, all the under burden and dead trees is just fuel for a really big fire which is not good. So controlled burning is good for the forest, however these fires are becoming really expensive. Who do you think pays for the water, gas, and the people to put these fires out? The cost on fire suppression by the United States forest service was more than a billion dollars last year. There is always two sides to an issue. Simply don’t do anything and hope that big fires do not occur and destroy the forest, or you can manage it and slow it down. Either way you are spending money, Plans like selective logging and clearing underburden are slowing the issue and are managing it, however it still costs money. Especially when people’s home or life’s are in danger. By not doing anything, and just letting the forest grow and grow causes large fuel loadings, and proved to be more

dangerous, you want to control the fire as best as you can, a managed forest seemed like a better route to the forest service.
Fire is a big problem in California, and a good example of how expensive it is to prevent and maintain wildland fires.

California alone was estimated at “2 billion” in funds during wildland season according to Arun Malik. In the forest service they have been managing fire for over 100 years. Spending tons and tons of money managing the forest every year. Managing the forest is great, it minimizes the outcome. It will not stop the fire entirely, however it will prevent mass destruction of the forest, and prevent communities and peoples property from getting destroyed. Close to 3,500 people caused wildland fires in the past 10 years. Which is understandable, most wild fires are caused by people, and people are not going to change, there is always going to be that one person that throws the match or lighter on the ground and walks away. Like I was saying fires are getting expensive and is a big issue in forestry

today.
In the year 2001 the “National Fire Plan” was established. Meaning that money and supplies were being funded for forest management. To help prevent fires from evolving, somewhere around half a billion was spent to reduce fuel loading for a long period of time. Forest management was found to be the better route that letting the forest build up with under burden, and dead trees was just a disaster waiting to happen. Depending on the topography and the forest you are in, you should generally repeat fuel reduction between “5-35” year intervals.
Wild fire is a friend and a foe. Yes wild land fires can be bad and can cost the forest service a lot of money. However fire can also be your friend. A lot of the under burden builds up overtime, to where it’s just this big pile of fuel for the fire. Not only are controlled burns good for eliminating fuel, but fire is nature’s way of cleaning itself in a way. That’s how new plants and trees get established into the earth. The fire is a disinfectant, removing any diseases that previous plants or trees had. Also the fire removes any harmful bugs or insects that hurt the forestry ecosystem. By the burning of under burden the sunlight can reach the new soil and allow for a new generation of seedlings to grow. For example when a lake turns over and all the algae is on the surface of the water. Also fire is helpful when fighting fire. Sometimes the best thing to do when a wild land fire occurs is just to let it be and let nature take its course. This policy is called “wildland fire use” where under the right circumstances, meaning no houses or communities in the vicinity, the best thing to do is let the fire go unchecked and burn all the under burden.
Fighting fire then, compared to now. In the forest service it used to be pretty basic. If there was a fire they would do their best to put it out, however in some situations that the fire was too big they would let it burn. Which was good to a certain point. Now day’s forest service is managing the fires. No more letting the forest do its own thing. They learned that the hard way. Agencies like the National Park Service created a policy called “aggressive fire suppression.” Meaning that fire suppression was not the complete answer. That fuel loadings, and huge amounts of under burden where causing the forest to be more vulnerable to fire. The found out they needed to manage the forest.
In conclusion wildland fires cause a lot of problems in forestry, and is a current issue in the forest service today. Wildland fires can mostly be prevented by managing, it’s the best route for forest conservation. Also more than a billion dollars was spent last year in the United States on Fire suppression. Fire is your friend and your foe. Fire is good because its apart of nature, the forest needs to be cleaned and disinfected by the fire every now and then. Also fire management is good because it slows down bigger accidents from happening. A forest with a lot of dead trees and under burden is going to burn a lot longer and a lot more than a forest with minimal to none under burden. Fire is bad for obvious reasons, houses and communities are always the concern. Like I said most wild fires are caused by people, so there are always going to be wildland fires. Managing or not managing you are spending money either way. Although fire is good and bad for the forest it costs money and is a big problem in forestry today.