“Fire is neither good nor bad. Fire is natural. Fire is not the problem. The problem is the build up of fuels, both live and dead, that are choking our wildlands and forest communities.”

--Jim Paxon 		 

Fire – Mother Nature’s Cleansing Tool

While destructive and deadly, fire is not the enemy. Fire is Mother Nature’s way of maintaining healthy forests and the ecological systems they support. Before man moved west and tried to harness the forests, fire was a rejuvenating force. Low intensity, slow-moving fires were Mother Nature’s way of sweeping clean the forest every few years.

Light Burn in a prescribed fire application. Photo by Ecological Restoration Institute of Northern Arizona University.

Those natural fires burned close to the ground in a slow, controlled way focused on clearing out the build up.

Unfortunately, the encroachment of civilization has thrown Mother Nature’s tool bag a bit off-balance. As we build in and around forests, we rearrange the forests and nature’s systems. We also too often build with materials that provide more burning fuel.

While we can work to control fires, we must remember that Mother Nature will not allow her primary tool, periodic fire visits, to be removed from her tool bag for very long. The longer fire is kept at bay, the more severe the eventual fire will burn. Nature will only slumber for so long.