In the summer of 1910, the western United States ignited.
A perfect blend of hot, dry weather, and hurricane force winds fed the blazes - eventually resulting
in a terrifying firestorm.
In just two days, 3 million acres burned, full towns were turned to ash, and nearly
90 people died.
Its devastation was so dramatic that it shaped US forest policy for years to come.
Especially for one new agency.
After the 1910 blaze, the US Forest Service primarily focused on stopping fires.
And at first, they were really effective.
For decades, most accidental and natural forest fires were stopped as quickly as they began.
But today, we’re facing this:
"Thousands of firefighters still battling dozens of fires in the west."
"More than 85 thousand acres burned."
"The worst wildfire season in state history."
Scientists are beginning to understand that decades of fire suppression has created dense
forests that are ready to ignite in catastrophic ways..
One proposed solution dates back hundreds of years:
burning parts of our forests, on purpose.
"So remember!
Only you can prevent forest fires."
In 1944, the US Forest Service introduced Smokey the Bear - the goal was to educate
the public on the dangers of forest fires.
But even before that famous campaign, the federal government had put thousands of men
to work building fire towers and suppressing burns.
In 1935, the Forest Service even established the “10 AM policy” - a rule that states
all fires should be suppressed by 10am the day after they’re reported.
This mentality that “all fire is bad” drove an entire generation’s understanding
of what fire means to a forest:
“A tragedy that happens year after year in our great American forest areas."
But by the 1960s, scientists realized that narrative isn’t entirely accurate.
KOLDEN: For most of the globe and particularly the forests in the western US, they actually
evolved with fire.
Tree rings, soil samples, and charcoal records all show a history of fire - likely started
by lightning strikes and other natural phenomena.
And that history shows that fire isn’t always a destructive force - but an important part
of forest ecology.
KOLDEN: Fire plays a really important role where it is essentially removing a lot of
the older, less productive material from the landscape and is creating pockets in patches
of different ages of vegetation.
KOLDEN: That diversity of ages also produces a diversity of species.
In many places, fires work as a “reset button” for the forest.
It clears out dead brush and older materials and makes space for new growth.
For some species, fire is even vital for reproduction.
For example, low burning fires dry out sequoia tree cones enough for them to open and drop seeds.
At the same time, the fire clears the ground to expose fresh, nutrient rich soil which
creates ideal conditions for seeds to germinate.
But aside from the ecological benefits, fires also help a forest become more resistant to
high severity burns later on.
Low burning fires clear the forest floor and lower branches from trees.
Then, if a more intense fire moves through the same area,
it’s slowed by a lack of fuel.
KOLDEN: So when you get those type of patches all over the place,
it becomes difficult for fire to move through that landscape again any time soon.
But decades of suppression have led to a build up of dry, dead materials in our forests
- so we’re long past that point of just letting all fires burn.
KOLDEN: We've got a forest that has not seen fire, but that it evolved with fire.
KOLDEN: And so there's all of this build up in the forest of extra fuel.
KOLDEN: And it is climate change exacerbating those extreme conditions.
There’s just no simple reset button for a century of suppression...
or a changing climate.
So in order to better adapt to a hotter, drier future, some are turning to a centuries old practice.
Indigenous people have long understood the value of fire, and, for millennia before colonization,
would burn sections of forest on purpose.
AZZUZ: We have a history of our men burning our hunting grounds.
Women will burn to restore their food gathering sites.
So, you know, burning is just a key tool that we use as indigenous people to keep our environment healthy.
But colonists began placing strict laws against burning as early as 1850 - criminalizing the
long-held practice.
After the 1910 blaze, legislation against all burning only became more strict.
AZZUZ: Indigenous people could be shot for burning.
And now, we’re looking to them to lead the way.
Prescribed or controlled burns draw on those cultural indigenous practices.
AZUZZ: Most people think, oh, these guys just go out and burn whenever they want to.
God, I wish it was that easy
AZUZZ: We go before the counties to get their permits.
AZUZZ: We go before our tribal councils to get their permission and their permits to burn on tribal land.
AZUZZ: We go before the tribal air quality.
AZUZZ: We go before the county's air quality.
AZUZZ: And then I work with NOAA to predict my weather throughout that week while we're burning.
AZUZZ: Once we have ignition, everybody falls in the place they need to be in.
AZUZZ: They have their tools ready,
they have their radios on,
we all know where everybody is at every moment.
The fire started in these controlled burns moves slowly across the forest floor and clears
out the buildup of dead material.
If the wind shifts, or fire gets too high it’s quickly contained and put out by the
trained crew.
There's not one piece of our day that isn't choreographed.
In 2020 and 2021 lawmakers introduced bills to increase the use of controlled burning nationwide.
It’s a start, but it’s won't be enough on it’s own.
Recent data shows wildfires are only getting larger and more destructive year after year.
Campaigns like Smokey the Bear weren’t wrong to teach us to be careful with fire.
Today, research shows that human carelessness like loose cigarettes, campfires, and sometimes
even arson cause over 85% of disastrous wildfires.
More controlled burns could help minimize those risks.
But we also need to recognize that fire is a natural part of the landscape we’re now
living in - and climate change is only going to make it worse.
That means building resilient communities and passing legislation that requires fire
resistant materials in high-risk areas and truly educating the public on fire safety.
AZUZZ: I..Yeah, saw Smokey Bear as a child and kind of thought that that was going to
go in the wrong direction.
But here I am as an adult, realizing that Smokey really frightened an entire population
of people into realizing, if we do this, something's going to happen to us.
AZUZZL: We're going to lose our homes.
AZUZZ: We're going to destroy our environment.
AZUZZ: Well, by not doing it, we're losing our homes and our environment is being destroyed.
The Forest Service has a program called the Roots and Shoots program where
they burn their grass for their basket weavers.
Their grass is what gives us the white in our baskets
and it's a serotinous plant — if it's not burned, it's not useable.
Our basket gathering sites are on a rotation,
so every three to five years those are burned
because for the first three years you can continue to gather hazel sticks in a certain site where it's been burned.
Other plants don't require fire that often.