Spotfire!

Sunset Boulevard lies in ruins in Pacific Palisades where hydrants ran dry, millions are without power, and authorities say the worst is still to come. Some inhabitants are surrounded by large fires, and over a hundred thousand residents are under evacuation orders. There are at least 1,100 structures lost with tens of thousands more in harms way.

Recently, I had a delightful and captivating experience observing a group of magnificent entertainers who danced with a myriad of flaming iron torches. Swaying, twirling, swirling, these dancers of flames excavated a forgotten incident from the creaking edge of my memory. 

(photo credit: @brexi-brexifer)

Federal wildland firefighters aren’t just emergency responders; they are the frontline stewards of over 600 million acres of public land in the United States. Their work extends far beyond suppressing wildfires.

October 3rd, 2024 wasn’t just any day. In fact, for fire ecology experts and enthusiasts alike, it happened to be the perfect day. Just the evening before, my email pinged. It was the message I had been highly anticipating this fall, from Pisgah's Volunteer and Intern Coordinator, Jared Tarr. 

It was go-time: prescribed fire was to be implemented the morning of Oct. 3rd, on the east side of Howard Buford Recreation Area.

The Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) working on the USFS' Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) amendment held their third in-person meeting in Eugene, Oregon in January. Comprised of 21 volunteers representing diverse interests and groups from across the Pacific Northwest, the FAC has done a remarkable job of producing policy recommendations for the upcoming Environmental Impact Statement. In fact, they delivered 81 single-spaced, double-sided pages full of recommendations divided among the six subcommittees they created (Climate, Fire resilience, Old-growth, Tribal inclusion, Communities, and Biodiversity).

With the initial round of public comments and meetings amongst the FAC coming to a close, the focus of the upcoming NWFP amendment will be honing in on protections for old-growth forests, tribal inclusion, and fire resilience. It is clear that current policies that aim to suppress fire have failed to protect native old-growth forest ecosystems, as fire suppression has resulted in uncontrollable wildfires. Old-growth forest ecosystems are one of the planet’s biggest carbon sinks and offer a natural solution to the climate crisis. Logging is one of the region's largest sources of carbon emissions. The NWFP amendment needs to protect forests from commercial logging that removes the most carbon-rich, fire-resilient trees.

We have a National Strategy for updating our response to ever-hotter wildfires. With years of learning, careful consultation, and consideration, the Cohesive Wildfire Strategy offers a chance to respond to climate change and its effect on wildfires. But will personnel problems in our federal agencies sabotage the National Strategy?

Driven by the FLAME Act of 2009, the National Strategy gives energy and coherence to fire management during climate change. Inherent in this national strategy is an assumption that governments on all levels can hire a skilled workforce to respond to fires in ever more creative ways over the next few decades.