Forests

This is why we need longer-term strategies to fight wildfires

smoke billows as the US Forest Service performs a prescribed burn using incendiary balls dropped from a helicopter in Meadow Valley as a way to control the progress of the Dixie Fire, now at nearly a quarter million acres, California, U.S., July 31, 2021. REUTERS/David Swanson - RC20WO9113WV

Western wildfires are getting worse. Image: REUTERS/David Swanson

Susan J. Prichard
Research Scientist of Forest Ecology, University of Washington
Keala Hagmann
Affiliate Assistant Professor, University of Washington
Paul Hessburg
Research Ecologist, United States Forest Service
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a chart showing that while there are now fewer fires in the U.S., the ones that do occur are burning more land
'...a chronic lack of fire in Western landscapes also contributes to increased fire severity and vulnerability to wildfires.'. Image: National interagency fire center

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