In many regions of the southwestern Unites States, fire is not an if, but a when. A number of factors are contributing to our volatile state; climate change, record droughts, an ever growing human population inhabiting fire prone regions, building codes that don't support fire safe standards, repeated fires in some areas contributing to the expansion of invasive species, and the suppression of fire's natural cycle in other regions contributing to a huge fuel load.
There's a lot of variables. There's a lot to know. And while we are all one breath with every other living thing, humans tend to not fare well in the face of fire. We are creatures who love our creature comforts, most of which are vulnerable to fire. We can take actions to improve our chances of surviving a wildfire. Depending on where we live, what kind of structure we live in, whether or not we own it and what kind of financial resources are available to us, we can take positive, forward-thinking actions.
For those who cherish the environment, fire ecology is worth understanding. Every biome has its own specific adaptations to, dependency upon, and vulnerability to fire. Often, those natural biomes need nothing from us in order to recover. Equally often, we are compelled to want to do something to help, and what is available...such as tree planting programs...may or may not be the right thing to do.
Visit our website www.afterthefireisover.org to learn more about fire and our relationship to it. We'll be migrating this information here over the next few months. We'll also discuss the philosophy and practice of bringing back fire via prescribed burns. Below, get a look inside of a prescribed burn from May 2019 in the Angeles National Forest, a joint effort between the USFS, LAFD Forestry Division and Cal Fire.
There's a lot of variables. There's a lot to know. And while we are all one breath with every other living thing, humans tend to not fare well in the face of fire. We are creatures who love our creature comforts, most of which are vulnerable to fire. We can take actions to improve our chances of surviving a wildfire. Depending on where we live, what kind of structure we live in, whether or not we own it and what kind of financial resources are available to us, we can take positive, forward-thinking actions.
For those who cherish the environment, fire ecology is worth understanding. Every biome has its own specific adaptations to, dependency upon, and vulnerability to fire. Often, those natural biomes need nothing from us in order to recover. Equally often, we are compelled to want to do something to help, and what is available...such as tree planting programs...may or may not be the right thing to do.
Visit our website www.afterthefireisover.org to learn more about fire and our relationship to it. We'll be migrating this information here over the next few months. We'll also discuss the philosophy and practice of bringing back fire via prescribed burns. Below, get a look inside of a prescribed burn from May 2019 in the Angeles National Forest, a joint effort between the USFS, LAFD Forestry Division and Cal Fire.
