Friend and foe: the paradox of fire

"The challenge we face is how to restore some aspects of a more natural fire regime while at the same time minimizing the threat wildfire poses to human and natural resources and values."
—Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project

It¹s a hot issue these days. Fire—is it friend or foe? As the summer fire season approaches, it appears to be a foe. We are reminded to create defensible space and to be fire safe. Smokey doesn¹t want forest fires.

However, that¹s only part of the story. There are actually multiple issues involved here and the solutions are elusive. At stake is the well-being of our forests and the safety of the people living there.

One issue is that many of our California forests are in an unhealthy condition—one that is ripe for large, catastrophic fires. Due in large part to decades of successful fire suppression, fuels (live and dead plant material) in many of our forests have accumulated to unprecedented levels.

The arrangement of the fuels in the forest is also a problem. They tend to be continuous with fuel ladders—fires are more likely to travel long distances and into the crowns of trees. Environmental conditions such as drought and pollution exacerbate the unhealthy condition.

Another aspect of the fire discussion is the fact that there is an ever-increasing number of people relocating into this forest tinderbox, putting more lives and property at risk. The population in the urban-wildland interface, also known as the I-Zone, increases the difficulty of fighting wildfires and increases the consequences of fires.

But fire is also a friend, a vital and necessary part of the forest ecosystem.

Historically, natural fires swept through forests at relatively frequent intervals. Native Americans used fire as a management tool and increased the frequency even more. Because fuel didn¹t have time to accumulate, low to moderate intensity fires were the norm.

Fire provides a number of essential ecological functions including:

• Some of our native plants are adapted to fire and won¹t germinate without heat to release the seeds and prepare the ground.
• Fire cleans up the forest. It removes excess duff, dead wood, overcrowded trees, insect pests, sterilizes the soil of disease organisms, and can help remove some species of exotic weeds.
• Fire impacts are patchy, creating a mosaic of habitats which allows a greater diversity of plants and animals to live in the forest.
• Fire regulates succession, eliminating climax species that shut out the light, opening up areas to early seral stages. This can encourage wildlife that feed on early successional plants.
• Nutrients are released. The chemical composition of the soil and ash is altered by fire.
• The chance of high-intensity fires is reduced after the forest is thinned by fire. Low and moderate intensity fires are less damaging to the ecosystem.

So how can we restore the necessary functions of fire while protecting life and structures? There is a lot of work going into answering that question.

The study of fire—fire ecology—is in its early stages. What we do understand is that fire is an extremely complex subject and there¹s much we don¹t understand.

Fuels management can mimic some of the functions of fire but not all. Mechanical thinning can decrease the chances of catastrophic fire by removing or modifying some of the fuel load (see page 6 for a discussion of fuel management options). But these methods can¹t provide all the ecological benefits of fire.

The best fuels management method in that respect is prescribed, or controlled, burning in which areas are burned under conditions which allow us to control it. But prescribed burns have their own drawbacks, most notably the danger of the fire escaping and effects on air quality.

Prescribed burns have to be done under very stringent conditions by a qualified crew. Steps are taken to notify any nearby residents who could be affected by the fire and smoke, to monitor weather conditions continually, and to use knowledge of fire and its behavior. Even with all the precautions, prescribed burns occasionally escape. Many forested areas cannot be safely burned because the fuel load is too high. Others are too close to human habitation. Control burns are only possible in limited situations.

It would be nice to have a simple solution to the challenge of fire but there are no easy answers. Fire can be destructive to the environment but it can also be beneficial. It can increase the abundance of native species or favor exotics. It can be good for wildlife or deadlyŠ

So what should you do? You certainly need to protect your immediate home and family: create a defensible space, educate yourself about fire safe issues, and join a Fire Safe Council. It is important to understand that fire is an integral part of the California forest landscape—it won¹t go away—and there are risks involved in living in the wildlands. You might also want to explore the feasibility of reintroducing fire into your forest.

To learn more, contact your local CDF Unit, FireSafe Council, or the California Forest Stewardship Helpline at 1-800-PET TREE.