We cannot
eliminate fire, nor do we want to.
Wildland fires are natural
and essential part of ecosystems
on our landscape.
But climate change is setting the stage
for longer, more severe fire seasons.
For example, in 2023,
the National Interagency Fire Center
reported responding to 56,580 fires,
which amounts to about 2.7 million acres
burned in the United States.
And this impacts communities,
public health and air quality,
and ecosystems.
This trend is expected to continue
to rise with increasing
greenhouse gas emissions.
Surprisingly, one
effective method to mitigate future
severe fires
is to use fire to combat fires.
Both prescription
burning and unplanned fire ignitions
like lightning, caused fires
under the right
Fire weather conditions reduce fuels
for future fires
that might burn more intensely
under hotter and dry conditions
that we cannot control.
Fires clear understory growth,
The grasses and the fuels in the brush,
and this promotes new plant
growth, benefiting
both the ecosystems and wildlife.
Change, including fire, is vital
for forest health
and many species depend on it.
It's crucial for us to further
our understanding of fire.
At the Rocky Mountain
Research Station,
we use the latest technologies
to study
fire. Using the latest
data sets from partners like NASA
to map vegetation, fuels and past fires,
helps researchers to model fire spread
risk and severity.
Building tools, models and applications
that fire managers can use
to make decisions, often
under rapidly changing conditions
that restore fire to the landscape
in the appropriate ways, times,
and places,
reduces the risk
and severity of future fires.
At NASA,
we employ various methods
to collect near-real-time fire data.
This includes
aircraft and ground-based campaigns.
One distinct approach
is by using satellites,
we have a global view of fire.
With this perspective
from space, scientists
can accurately locate
thermal anomalies or fires,
their spread over time,
and monitor vegetation conditions.
Fire managers have to make complex decisions.
These data sets and scientific approaches help teams predict how fire will evolve
over various different scenarios
and foster collaboration within fire affected communities.
Satellite observations give
us an eye-in-the-sky
during an active blaze, and also allow us
to track fire behavior trends over time.
Providing those on the ground
with the data
they need to make complex decisions,
and bringing fire
safely back to our landscapes.
Forest Service research and NASA data sets help us to move to more
proactive fire management
that promotes
healthy forest and watersheds
while simultaneously
reducing the risk and
severity of future fires.