Extreme fires across the west are becoming more frequent, more severe, and more extensive, as climate change and decades of fire suppression create the perfect conditions for these disasters. Extreme fires are an ever-increasing threat to human infrastructure and ecosystems across the west. However, it is important to recognize that these disasters are different from the fires that used to occur in western forests. 

Wild fires, such as those started by lightning strikes, are indeed something that happens naturally in many landscapes, and historically were far less intense than modern fire disasters. In many ecosystems, plants and animals have adapted to fire and other disturbances, like floods, storms, and herds of grazing animals, as long as they aren’t too frequent or destructive. There are in fact several plants that have evolved specifically to grow in recently burned areas, leading to an ecosystem where occasional fires are actually beneficial!
 

Many western forests have evolved to coexist with smaller fires

A very common, and fire-dependent, forest of western North American is the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). Ponderosa pine is one of the most widespread tree species in the western US, with its range stretching from British Columbia, Canada to Durango, Mexico, west to the Oregon coast and east to central Nebraska. These trees have evolved thick bark to survive low to moderate intensity fires, which historically occurred about every 5 to 25 years in much of their range. The ponderosa forest floors were dominated by grasses, forbs, and small shrubs with a low density of tall, mature trees. 

In areas where planned and contained (“prescribed”) fire has been reintroduced in ponderosa forests, studies have found that the diversity of bumble bees, solitary bees, butterflies, and wildflowers increased . These burns reduce forest density and open forest canopies, allowing light to reach the forest floor where flowering plants are able to establish. 

Even in instances where small areas of the fire are particularly severe, and trees are killed, small meadows can form in the resulting clearing. These meadows support an abundance of different flowers blooming across seasons, attracting even higher diversities of bees than areas where no severe burns happen at all . While the direct impact of fire likely causes some bees to perish, research has found that many females do survive fires, by taking shelter in their underground nests . While it may seem counterintuitive to burn plants and trees to conserve wildlife like pollinators, fire is an essential element of many habitats, like ponderosa pine forests.
 

Native communities used fire as a tool to care for western forests

Historically, many Native communities throughout western North America used prescribed fires within western forests. This practice is called cultural burning. These communities included the Indigenous ancestors of the Paiute, Ute, Pueblo, Diné, Apache, Salish, Klamath, Shoshone, Miwok peoples, amongst many others. Cultural burning was used for dozens of practical reasons, such as for their benefit to the forests’ ecosystem, and also for religious ones.  Of these, the most significant being an act of care and reciprocity for the land which sustained them. 

As European colonists stole land from Indigenous peoples, they also tried to erase Indigenous practices like cultural burning, in favor of their own ideas about how to manage the land. This led to over a century of suppression of all fires, big and small, by American land management agencies. As a result, many American forests supported fewer wildlife species, were more prone to pests and diseases, and became densely packed with many thin young trees, dead logs, fallen branches, and other fuel for extreme fires.
 

Prescribed fires need to be used carefully but are worth the effort

In recent decades, many people have recognized this problem, and prescribed fire has become a commonly used and accepted management tool in many western forests, and other fire-dependent ecosystems. Federal and state agencies, non-profits, and private landowners are bringing planned and controlled fires back into landscapes, and cultural burning is being reclaimed by dozens of Native communities to continue their practice of keeping forests healthy.

Prescribed fire is difficult to get right in the modern era, especially with the hazardous conditions of hotter, drier, denser forests fueled by climate change and the legacy of fire suppression. Safe opportunities to burn are very limited, and many areas are too risky to burn with the increase in people living near forests. In the worst-case scenarios, poor decisions in fire management of forests can lead to uncontrollable devastating fires, such as the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire — the largest in New Mexico history, burning over 340,000 acres. 

However, when implemented with control, in the right place and time, prescribed fire is an essential tool for conservation. Along with upholding strict safety standards, practitioners must engage with and support the nearby communities. This includes creating a plan and enough space to protect structures, educating the public about fire’s role in our forests, and building working relationships with Tribes with expertise and experience with the area.
Prescribed fires support the diversity and health of forests across the west, while also reducing the risk of wildfires becoming extreme disasters. These controlled burns may appear to be completely destructive at first, but soon after the ash settles, wildflowers and their pollinators can flourish as this natural cycle is restored. 
 

Learn more about the role of fire in forests

• Discover what makes cultural burning effective in this interview with a Dr. Melinda Adams, a scientist and Native person who studies the impact of Indigenous fire practices
• Learn how different states use prescribed fires to prevent more extreme fires 
• Discover how bees respond to fires in this episode of the Pollination Podcast
  Read the research on fires and forest diversity: Gelles et al. 2023, Galbraith et al. 2019, Love and Cane, 2016, Ponisio et al. 2016, Nyoka 2010, Huntzinger 2002