NW Coniferous Ecosystem
8
FIRE Beneficial Or Harmful?
The redwood forest are made of wood and other flammable greenery, obviously, allowing them to be a prime target for fires. Fires in the forests can be caused by lightning, intentional ignition, or by prescribed fires. For example, the canoe fire in 2003 which burned about 11,000 acres of land was started by a lightning storm. Lightning occurs naturally and there is not much we can do about it. Intentional ignition includes ignition for bad purposes, and good purposes. Lighting forests on fire intentionally can result in felony, misdemeanor, and/or homicide charges. These offense will lead to jail and/or fines. You better not set our precious forests on fire!
There is a reason firefighters start intentional fires. These are called prescribed fires because they are monitored and ,well, prescribed. They are used to create firebreaks to prevent a fire from spreading incase one does breakout, help control and eliminate exotic plant species such as the oat grass, and to kill younger trees to prevent them from competing with the hundred year old trees. If you are visiting the area and see many black scorched spots, it is probably because rangers are trying to protect the forest.
~Brent Xiao
beautiful Biomes March 2015