Fire Information

The most common misconception of wildfire is that all fire is bad. But there are important benefits that smaller and more frequent fires offer to the environment. Matt Jolly, an ecologist at the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, talks about the natural and important role of fire in maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

With the understanding the fire on the landscape is important to forest health, why aren’t more fires allowed to burn? Colin Hardy, program manager at the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, explains the balance of improving forest health and protecting critical infrastructure from uncharacteristic fires.

Understanding Fuels: Forest Fire Science

Forest managers and wildland firefighters will often talk use the word “fuels.” What are fuels? It’s both the living and dead vegetation in a forest that can potentially burn in a wildfire. David Peterson, biologist for the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, explains how reducing fuels helps to reduce the intensity of wildfires.

The impact of smoke on human health is a factor that is taken into account when forest managers are planning prescribed burns. David Weise, a research forester with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, explains how research seeks to improve the ability for managers to better predict the impacts of smoke.

Fires that burn vegetation on the forest floor are important for forest health and are much easier to manage. Doug Grafe, fire protection chief for the Oregon Department of Forestry, explains how fuel reduction through active management and through prescribed fire can help with the prevention of catastrophic wildfires.

Forests in the western United States are seeing increases in insects and disease. The resulting increase in tree mortality is creating more fuel for potential wildfires. Randy Moore, regional forester of the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region, talks about drought and the impacts it has on our landscapes.