Tending Fire: Coping with America's Wildland Fires

2005·2.1 MB·English

by  Richard W Halsey

Madrono, Vol. 52, No. 3, p. 213-214, 2005
REVIEW
Tending Fire: Coping with America\s Wildland century has lead to a steady reduction of acres
Fires. By Stephen J. Pyne. 2001. Island Press, burned. It has not (Keeley and Fotheringham 2003).
Washington D.C. 238 pp. $25.00. ISBN 1-55963- Although Pyne makes it clear multiple times that
565-7. fire management techniques transfer poorly from
one system to another, the reader will probably
In his most recent book, renowned fire historian come away thinking dense, old-growth chaparral is
Stephen J. Pyne departs from his previous efforts "unhealthy" and needs to burn in the same way
that focused primarily on the culture of fire and some overstocked Ponderosa pine forests do. This
turns his attention instead towards fire policy. The misconception unfortunately dominates public dis-
shift seems to be a bit uncomfortable for Pyne as course and many fire management plans despite the
he utilizes the same writing and research style that lack of corroborating scientific evidence. The few
helped make so many of his past works, especially remaining old-growth chaparral stands in California
his 1995 "World of Fire," such a pleasure to read. are in fact beautiful, dynamic communities that
Formulating wildfire policy and developing appro- have been protected rather than created by success-
priate fire management strategies require a different ful fire suppression. This is important for agencies
approach to data verification and interpretation than to understand in orderto prevent these valuable nat-
does delving into cultural history. Consequently, ural resources from falling victim to overzealous
there are sections in the book where literary hy- vegetation treatments. Large tracts of chaparral
perbole clashes with the need for a more analytical have already been type-converted to alien grassland
perspective. But Pynes's efforts are ultimately suc- by increased fire frequency due to "range manage-
cessful because he is able to offer many valuable ment" practices, accidental ignition, and arson. In-
and compelling viewpoints that need to be seriously troducing more fire into the system will only ac-
discussed by not only the fire community, but sci- celerate the process. The only place where pre-
entific and educational institutions as well. scribed fire and other vegetation management tech-
Throughout, Pyne describes a creative and more niques make sense in California chaparral is in a
descriptive way to view fire than most of us have strategic manner directly along the wildland/urban
done in the past. It is not just an extreme event on interface where homes exist next to wildlands.
the periphery ofbiology, but rather an integral part In discussing our past relationship to fire, Pyne
of life. Such a perspective will hopefully stimulate gives a bit too much credit to humans as agents of
the inclusion of fire in biology texts as not only an evolutionary change. While it is safe to assume ear-
important evolutionary force, but also a crucial el- ly humans knew how to use fire to manipulate their
ement of the biotic environment. Pyne's basic pre- environment, the extent and frequency is unknown.
mise is that fire needs to be defined primarily as a Humans have changed fire regimes wherever they
"phenomenon of the biosphere," because "fire's have gone to be sure. However, it is impossible to
biological character is fundamental, for without separate natural from anthropogenic fires in prehis-
life, fire would not exist." Such an ecological per- toric times. The role of humans in shaping the de-
spective is now being recognized by most land velopment of fire adapted species or ecosystems
managers as they try to figure out how to safely was likely minimal, especially in Australia and the
return fire to landscapes that have been damaged Americas where Homo sapiens are recent arrivals.
by improper logging and grazing practices as well The United States Forest Service, and the fire-
as overly ambitious fire suppression efforts. But fighters who work for it, are usually the ones sin-
Pyne makes it clear that a one-size-fits-all approach gled out for causing the wildfire problems we see
to wildfire management is not appropriate. He today. After the Great Fires of 1910, where three
states that, "America does not, in truth, have a fire million acres burned in Idaho and Montana and 84
problem or a fire story. It has many fire prob- people died, the federal government embarked
lems. .each of which requires different treat- upon a major effort to suppress all fire as soon as
.
ments." This contrasts with a more anthropogenic possible in order to prevent such a disaster from
perspective that views the fire problem not as a fire occurring again. Conventional wisdom claims this
problem, but as a people problem (Zedler 2005). effort was shortsighted and has led to excessive fuel
As is the case with most books dealing with loads and the growth of so-called dog hair forests.
American wildfires, California ecosystems, espe- If we had only listened, the thinking continues, to
cially chaparral, are poorly represented and under- the earliest fire ecologists, such as Herbert Stoddard
stood. This is unfortunate because 12 ofthe nation's and Harold Biswell, the extreme fire risks we cur-
top 15 most destructive wildfires have occurred in rently see would not exist. Pyne takes these as-
California. This lack of attention leads one to think sumptions head on and deals with them in a bal-
fire suppression in southern California over the past anced manner, pointing out that fire suppression is
MADRONO
214 [Vol. 52
only one ofmany factors contributing to the current be sued," Pyne writes. The AustraHan fire model
condition of our nation's wildlands. He mentions is discussed whereby citizens take an active role in
logging, grazing, road building, land use policy, protecting their communities, maintaining defensi-
and the invasion ofnon-native species ("exotic pyr- ble space, and understanding fire behavior, but Pyne
ophytes like cheatgrass that rapidly remake land- conectly points out that reforming American lia-
scapes in ways that promote undesired fire re- bility law (and attitudes about liability) would be
gimes") as having important impacts as well. "It necessary to successfully emulate such an ap-
is the sum of all we have done and not done over proach. Perhaps more importantly, Australian gov-
the past century." Pyne also cautions there is not a ernments more closely link fire managers in the
one-to-one correspondence between aggressive land planning process.
suppression and uncontrollable fuels because too Pyne also discusses various approaches to
many variables are involved from "wind, drought, change the existing structure ofboth the US Forest
and browsers." Service and local fire fighting agencies to make for
Although fuel is obviously important, the ar- a more effective system of wildfire management.
rangement of that fuel and the environmental con- His organizational recommendations are a bit
ditions under which it burns will determine whether fuzzy, but he does make a good case for maintain-
or not the flames become unmanageable. For ex- ing the bond between fire and land management.
ample, underappreciated by the general public, but This is important because solving the wildfire prob-
well known to firefighters, are the dangers ofgrass lem can not be reduced to "thinning" offuels. "In
fires. The speed and intensity in which flames can fact," Pyne writes, "the issue isn't trees, or grass,
move through weedy fields has cost the lives of or elk, or Hereford cattle, or red-cockaded wood-
many. Last year, California Department ofForestry peckers. It's about all of them. It's about making
firefighter Eva Schicke was killed during a 30 sec- all the parts ofthe fire management mesh. It's about
ond burn over when a sudden wind change pushed synchronizing fire practices with the land."
flames into the grassy area she was trying to cross But even ifall the issues could be resolved, Pyne
in order to reach the assigned safety zone. "The makes it clear that big fires are ultimately unprev-
rveiarsoonnmeingtnictiaonnsproofpaagnaytesortthesmp,reaand.d.th.iisstihsatmotshteleyn-a ebnetaabbllee. tTohceoyntwriolllalhlaptpheenvabreiacbaluesse. Awceknwoilwllendegvee-r
consequence of short-term weather. Regional-scale ment of such a fact needs to be incorporated into
bouts ofdrying and wind associated with the arrival public policy and the public needs to accept and
and breakdown of high-pressure systems, events understand the limits of fire fighting agencies.
ranging from five to fourteen days, underwrite most "Even the best systems will lose 2 to 3 percent of
of North America's extensive burns and explosive starts underextreme conditions, and these fires may
runs." It is important here to make the distinction sweep widely."
between climate and local weather. Recent climate With his signature writing style, Pyne makes a
changes have had major impacts on increasing both plea for change in how we deal with wildfire by
the size and frequency of fires by reducing fuel highlighting the fascinating nature of the subject
moisture over much of the Western United States. and discussing the traditional schism that separates
Local weather influenced by wildfire behavior is the fire community from the academic -ologists.
one of the primary variables responsible for fire "Partly this reflects a failure of intellectuals to see
spread and firefighter fatalities. anything significant in the flames," he writes. "But
menItn'shinrdessipgohnts,eittoistheeasGyretaot sFaiyresthaotf t1h9e10gofvaeirlne-d mmousntiltyy tthoeacpphraescmiatbeethraoyws tahefafilluarmeesofthtahteitfifreincdsoms-o
to properly consider all the consequences of fire compelling in the field . . . illuminate fascinating
suppression. However, there were and remain good questions . . ." Because in studying fire, he contin-
ues, "... the mind can experience a rush as stirring
reasons to fight wildfires quickly and aggressively;
they kill people and destroy property. It is therefore as anything wrought by a torching fir."
—
inherently unfair to criticize fire fighting agencies Richard W. Halsey. The California Chaparral Field
fornot letting fires burn "naturally" through forests Institute, RO. Box 545, Escondido, CA 92033.
while at the same time expecting them to do all
they can to protect lives and communities through Literature Cited
fire suppression. This is especially true when con- Keeley, J. E. AND C. J. FoTHERiNGHAM. 2003. Impact of
sidering how poor land planning has resulted in the past, present, and future fire regimes on North Amer-
creation of a virtually unmanageable wildland/ur- ican mediterranean shrublands. Pp. 218-263 in T. T.
ban interface. This forces fire fighting agencies to Veblen, W. L. Baker, G. Montenegro, andT. W. Swet-
defend often indefensible structures, thereby limit- encaomsys(etdesm.)s.oFfirteheaWnedstcelrinmatAimcercihcaans.geSpirnintgeerm,peNraetwe
ing their ability to actually control fire spread.
York.
One of the issues that play a significant role in Zedler, R H. 2005. Fire, Chaparral andSurvival inSouth-
how wild and prescribed fires are managed is lia- ern California, by Richard W. Halsey [review]. Ma-
bility. "If a fire misbehaved, the government could drono 52:133-135.