"Fire Ecologists Say More Fires Should Be Left To Burn. So Why Aren't They?" -NPR's Nathan Rott, Sept. 27, 2018
Article Summary by Milana Baldizzi
In Nathan Rott's article, we can start to see the dangers of short sighted decisions made by humans in regards to forest fires and wildfires. Malcolm North, a fire ecologist, speaks of his studies on a wildfire that was started in Ansel Adams Wilderness, south of Yosemite National Park. North hiked up to what they named, the "Lions Fire". In this case, the Forest Service decides to let the Lions Fire burn, as the area has not been burned in a long time. This can be seen through the downed and long-since-dead trees. Also, the fire was caused naturally by lightning strike, which was another good sign, as a vast majority (84 percent to be specific) of forest fires are human-caused. In the article and the interviews, it can be seen that many of these decisions are made based off of whether humans will be positively affected, or negatively affected, instead of focusing mainly on the environmental impact. Denise Tolmie, a district ranger on the Sierra National Forest, further explains that a fire must meet a very confined box of specifics in order to be allowed to continue burning. Also, that the main concerns are if the fire burns property or near people. Tolmie continues to say how much of a hard and "nail-biting" decision it is to allow a fire to continue or to smother it. However, "From the years 1998 to 2008 though, the last with data, less than half of one percent — 0.4 percent — of all ignitions in the U.S. were allowed to burn. The rest were put out." This shows that regardless of how difficult of a decision it is, the Forest Service undeniably smothers most fires and allows an unhealthy growth of brush and downed lumber. These choices to smother fires only delay the inevitable, and allow buildup of dead and ignitable material, which will lead to an even larger and more destructive fire. With changes of weather conditions comes changes of wildfire management as well. Despite the choice of allowing the Lions Fire to continue burning, high winds which blew the flames and smoke towards civilization caused a change in decision and fire crews were jumping in to fully suppress it. North, the fire ecologist who had first hiked up to determine the status of the Lions Fire, was disappointed to discover the fire was being fully suppressed, though he understands the reasons behind it. He points towards the still smoldering ash covered forest floor, explaining that these are the desired results of a naturally caused wildfire, and that fires must be allowed to burn and clean forest floors in order for new life to flourish.