“To reduce flood damage, we make floodplain maps. To reduce earthquake damage, we form earthquake commissions. When it comes to fire, we hand everything over to the firefighters," said Max Moritz, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management at UC Berkeley. He is the lead author of a review paper about wildfire published today in the journal Nature.
The analysis looked at different kinds of natural fires, what drives them in various ecosystems, the ways public response to fire can differ, and the critical interface zones between built communities and natural landscapes. Moritz and his co-authors conclude that government-sponsored firefighting and land-use policies actually encourage development on hazardous landscapes, amplifying human losses over time.
“We don't just have a forest-fire problem,” Moritz said. “We have a shrubland-fire problem, a grassland-fire problem, and a woodland-fire problem. And the more we rely on fuels reduction to protect us, the more energy we're taking away from measures that could really make a difference.”
For more on the research, see
- Co-exist or perish, wildfire analysis says, UC Berkeley press release
- Wildfire-Prone Areas Need to Learn to Live With Flames, Experts Say, NBC news
- Misguided Wildfire Policy Should Change, Scientific American
- As Wildfires Worsen, Calls for Change in Tactics, USA Today
- New global wildfire analysis indicates humans need to coexist and adapt, University of Colorado, Boulder