California experiences a brutal wildfire season every year, and in recent years it seems to be soaring out of control. The government of California states that from the beginning of 2020, 3.6 million acres have burned. This is unprecedented as a trinity of factors, drought, heatwaves, and global warming, all unite to make our climate the perfect condition for fires.

 These past years have made it clear that more than ever, the actions we are taking are not enough to protect people from the growing danger of fires. As I look out my window, the sky is yellow with smoke, and I know that overworked firefighters are hard at work. These firefighters must attempt to do damage control and contain the fires across the West Coast. 

How did we get into this situation? The answer is clear: in the 1800s, settlers arrived on the West Coast and quickly set to work displacing and banning Native Americans and their practices. Among those practices was the ritual burning of areas of land. This along with lightning meant that before colonization, millions of acres burned in California every year, clearing the brush and resetting the soil. California’s wildfire policy since then has followed the Forest Service guidelines which stated that from the moment of discovery, all fires should be put out before 10 a.m. the next day. In recent years, controlled burns are no longer outlawed; however, they are put strictly into the hands of public officials and are not comparable with the past as only about 13,000 acres are being burned per year by fire marshalls. This caution is backfiring on us. The buildup of dry, dead vegetation makes uncontrolled fires not just likely, but a certainty. As we have seen this past month, these uncontrolled fires are not just scary. They can also be deadly.

Earlier this year, the governor’s office passed a bill to allocate funds for fire prevention covering one million acres. Part of this money is set aside for prescribed burns. This is a step forward; however, it is not enough when almost the entirety of the state is vulnerable to wildfires. 

The only solution for our current fires is to let them burn themselves out and shepherd them to areas where they can cause the least damage. But without an overhaul of California’s controlled burn policy, the same will continue to happen each year. It is time to bring back the traditional practices which were put out by colonists and light more cleansing fires to prevent tragedy from striking in high-risk areas.  California doesn’t need to be having devastating yearly infernos. Controlled burns help by making sure that fuel doesn’t build up so that when it does burn, it doesn’t rage out of control. 

We must work with Indigenous groups who are willing and interested in caring for their traditional lands and allow them to implement their ritual fires. According to National Public Radio, work is already underway in Northern California, with the Kuruk and Yurok tribes working with the Forest Service toward implementing traditional methods. However, public support and education on this topic will go a long way toward implementing more programs like those in the rest of the state. This will hopefully alleviate our overstrained fire fighting system. 

Fire is a part of the history of this land, but the government’s caution to accept that is doing more harm than good. Fire starting as a form of prevention is paramount because no matter the funds we allocate to firefighters, they simply can’t be everywhere at once.

Photo courtesy of CNN.COM