The Fire This Time · Episode 7 of 8 · 21 min
Good Fire: The Hard Return to Prescribed and Managed Burning
The only way out of a century of stored-up fuel is to put fire back on the land on purpose. The episode traces the slow turn from total suppression: the 1963 Leopold Report, the Park Service's 1968 natural-fire policy, the 1978 end of the 10 a.m. policy and the 1988 Yellowstone fires. It reckons honestly with why good fire is hard, including smoke rules, liability and escapes like Hermits Peak in 2022.
Who's who
- A. Starker LeopoldChaired the 1963 report that reframed fire as natural in parks
- Harold Biswell+1 more episodeEcologist who built the case that many ecosystems depend on fire
- Randy Moore+1 more episodeForest Service chief who ordered a national pause on prescribed fire in 2022
Where it happens
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming1988 fires burned about 1.2 million acres across the ecosystem
- Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, CaliforniaFirst to allow certain lightning fires to burn in 1968
- Hermits Peak, New Mexico+1 more episode2022 fire from escaped prescribed burns, state's largest
- Los Alamos, New MexicoHit by the 2000 Cerro Grande escaped burn
Timeline
- 1963Leopold Report names fire as a natural process in parks
- 1968Park Service allows certain lightning-caused fires to burn
- 1978Forest Service abandons the 10 a.m. policy
- 1988Yellowstone fires burn about 1.2 million acres
- 2000Cerro Grande prescribed burn escapes at Bandelier
- 2022Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire prompts national pause on prescribed fire
Still debated
Everyone agrees fire must return but not on how much escape risk is acceptable, how fast to scale up, or how to weigh controlled prescribed-burn smoke against the risk of catastrophic wildfire.
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