fire management

From Spokane, Wash. to Pueblo County, Colo., fast-moving fires have again wreaked havoc in neighborhoods this summer. Now, a network of scientists, fire professionals and other experts have joined forces to seek research-based solutions to the problem.

So-called process based restoration (PBR) has a number of ecological benefits. But it can make ecosystems more resilient to wildfires when they come, and better able to recover in their wake.

One of the studies found that over seven recent years, U.S. Forest Service projects helped communities avoid $2.8 billion in fire-related harm.

“Suppression is always going to be there,” Chief Brian Fennessy told the Mountain West News Bureau. “But we're not going to suppress our way out of this situation.”

The Trump administration is trying to repeal the Roadless Rule, which prohibits new road construction in large swaths of national forests. They say this will aid fire response, but new research is calling that into question.

Going into the state budget session, a group of lawmakers backed projects to support fisheries and manage species like cheatgrass throughout the state. But actually funding some of them is a bit uncertain.

As wildfires get more intense, there are questions about how effective prescribed fire and other fuel treatments can be. New research suggests that they can still have real impacts.

Brian Fennessy has nearly 50 years of fire experience, which began in the late 1970s on elite federal hotshot crews and other wildfire teams.

A group of mostly Western U.S. Senators is demanding answers on why the U.S. Forest Service has fallen behind on efforts to reduce hazardous wildfire fuels. The 12 senators – all Democrats – are from Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and other wildfire-impacted states.

When conditions allow for it to be done safely, research strongly suggests that land managers should let some fires burn to reduce the risk of catastrophic blazes. But making that decision can be complicated. A new study highlights ways to incentivize that often difficult call.