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Essay: Wildfires, a History of the Blaze

 Introduction

Wildland fires have played an important role in North American history. Theyhave helped shape our public and private lands. Wildfires have causedthousands of deaths, destroyed millions of acres of timber and evenseveral towns in their path. However, wildland fire is not solely adestructive force. It is necessary for the growth of some plantspecies, and is part of an ecological cycle. Historically humans havestarted fires to clear the land, suppressed wildfires, allowed fires toburn naturally, and used fire to reduce fuel loads.

Records of fire scars in fossilized trees and other vegetation indicate that fires influenced ecosystems on Earth at least 350 million years ago. How fire came to be controlled and used on a daily basis by humans is not well understood. Experts cannot even agree upon the time period when humans began to use fire in their daily lives for cooking, warmth,etc. From various archeological studies it appears that wildfires often burned across large sections of land throughout the world. Early humans were often nomadic. Because they tended to move and change settlements frequently their lifestyles were adaptable to wildfires. As civilizations and agricultural communities developed, humans began to become more settled in a specific area. They built their homes from wood, depended upon the large forest lands that surrounded them, and developed large stable agricultural communities.When fire struck it could have disastrous results; so as communities developed and grew the people living in them became more fearful of the destructiveness of fire.

Early European explorers in North America recorded that Native Americans used fire to clear the land of unwanted vegetation so they could improve hunting, gathering, and farming. When Europeans settled in America they continued this practice, using fire to clear large portions of the landform homes and agricultural purposes. They continued to utilize fire as they moved westward. Sometimes the fires they started burned out of control and other times fires began naturally due to lightning .Settlers began working to prevent wildfires from invading their communities. They still used fire to clear lands for new communities but they tried their best to eliminate wildfires from their existing towns. Thoughtful prevention and suppression of wildfires became an increasing need.

Wit ha growing population and industrial growth during the 1700s and 1800sthe threat of wildfires grew. Land that was recently cleared of trees usually had lots of brush left on it, a perfect fuel for wildfire .Lightning and sparks from machinery (typically from railroads) produced menacing wildfires in the 1880s.

Many changes and enhancements to equipment have been made to improve safety for smokejumpers. Since 1940, the design of smokejumper parachutes has changed at least 10 times. Parachutes have changed color, from the original white to white and orange panels; therefore improving visibility of the parachutes. The material used to make the parachutes changed from the original silk to various types of nylon to the“rip-stop” nylon used today. The design of the rip cord and the circumference of the parachutes have also changed.

Clothing worn by the smokejumpers also improved. Through much research, various fire retardant resistant uniforms have been developed. Today,smokejumpers wear a padded Kevlar (“fireproof”) jump suit and a helmet with a metal face grate to protect them from fire, rocks, and trees. A"fire box" containing tools, food, and water to support two people for up to 48 hours is dropped by parachute for each pair of jumpers at the scene. Through extensive research, fire shelters were developed (and continue to be modified) to provide a protective shelter from the heat of a wildfire if a firefighter is trapped. In1977 the U.S. Forest Service made it mandatory for firefighting employees to carry a fire shelter with them. Fire management has changed throughout history and so have technologies to fight wildfires.

 Figure 3: Early to mid-1940s photo of a uniformed Smokejumper in a plane preparing to jump (Image from records of the American Friends Service Committee, Civilian Public Service Records, Swarthmore College Peace Collection, ca. 1942-1946)

Figure 4: Smokejumper, Todd Jenkins, in uniform preparing to jump. (Photo provided by Mike McMillan / www.spotfireimages.com)

Fire Management

As early as 1930, some land managers started suggesting a return to natural fire management. Under natural fire management, instead of aiming for total fire suppression,fires started from natural causes such as lightning would be allowed to burn without suppression. This would eliminate some fuel build up and allow the natural fire cycle to occur. This suggestion was not popular at the time and those promoting fire exclusion policies won.

In the late1940s and early 1950s a large population growth occurred in the U.S. The return of World War II soldiers caused an increased demand for new homes and timber needs boomed. This increased timber demand,combined with wildfire problems, led foresters to work to protect timber and continue to advocate the exclusion of all fire from wood ed areas. Throughout much of the 20th century, public land managers and American citizens alike have continued to view fire as a destructive force, and a force to be controlled.

In1944 the U.S. Forest Service introduced Americans to Smokey Bear and the slogan “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Smokey was created to be used in Forest Service public service announcements to teach Americans about the importance of preventing forest fires. The Forest Service wanted citizens to realize that fire prevention was good stewardship and a responsibility of all Americans. This campaign was a huge success. Smokey is one of the world's most well known fictitious characters and the use of his image is protected by U.S. federal law.

However, continued fire suppression without other forest management techniques,produced a dangerous situation in our nation's forests. Without natural fires, fuels and vegetation began to build up in many areas. The buildup of deadwood and thick forest undergrowth can produce a fire hazard especially during drought conditions.  

By the 1940s, ecologists recognized that fire was an important part of ecosystem function and that total suppression could interfere with natural patterns of succession , the recovery process when an area is disturbed that enables forest regeneration. In the1950s and 1960s, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service began to experiment with prescribed fires, where fires are set on purpose in order to burn away material that could be harmful later .A prescribed fire is intentionally set, in a skillful manner, to achieve certain outcomes, such as to improve habitat for wildlife and livestock, to improve watershed, or to reduce hazardous build up of fire fuels in the hopes of preventing large wildfires in the future.

Land management agencies have learned more about prescribed fire and often use it as a fire-fighting tool. Yet, prescribed fire does not always work as intended. If weather becomes unpredictable, for example if there are sudden changes in wind direction, prescribed fires can be difficult to manage. If foresters lose control of a prescribed fire the result could be a major wildfire (such as the Grand Canyon and Los Alamos fires in 2000).

By the 1970s the National Park Service had introduced a fire management plan which allowed naturally occurring fires,lightning-caused fires, to burn without human influences or suppression. The result would be reduced fuel loads. The challenge was when to allow a natural fire to burn and when to control it. At that time the U.S. Forest Service was not ready to implement a natural fire management policy. They were still exploring their options in fire management.

Then,in 1988, a total of 248 wildfires started in the greater Yellowstone area, 50 of them in Yellowstone National Park . Thirty-one fires that season were initially allowed to burn because they were deemed naturally occurring (lightning initiated); 28 of these began inside the park. Due to drought conditions these fires quickly got out of control.In all, 1.2 million acres burned in and around Yellowstone National Park and sixty-seven structures were destroyed, including 18 cabins used by employees and guests and one back country patrol cabin. Surveys found that 345 elk, 36 deer, 12 moose, 6 black bears, and 9 bison died in the greater Yellowstone area as a direct result of the fires. An estimated $120 million was spent in fighting these fires. There was a great public out cry as a result of these raging fires. The public did not understand why the fires got out of control and caused so much damage. Public land manager s in both the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service began to reexamine their fire management plan and policies. Public land management agencies introduced fire management plans with stricter guidelines under which naturally occurring fires should be allowed to burn. They also began to better inform the public of the value and purpose of fire in forests.

After years of suppressing wildfires, today we see a variety of options. The ideas of fire suppression, prescribed fire, and natural burns have all been added to fire management policies. Since 2001, even Smokey Bear has added to his message. He is teaching not only fire prevention, but also the important role fire plays in our ecosystems. There are many factors involved in fire management which land use agencies are forced to consider. For example, people are moving closer to forested lands and expect protection for themselves, their homes, and their property during wildfires. This increasingly complicates approaches to fighting fires for land use agencies. Public forest areas also often adjoin privately owned forest lands and a wildfire occurring on public lands could have an impact on a private forest owner. Land use agencies must also consider environmental impacts, ecological impacts, and economic impacts of wildfires. Fire management is ever-changing, but it is important for land use agencies to look to the past, learn from mistakes and gain new knowledge for the future when developing fire management plans.