We now know that the largest fire in the history of New Mexico was caused by the “ordered fire,” or rather two. On April 6, the Hermit Peak fire was extinguished by uncontrollable winds.
Then, on April 9, the calf canyon fire was extinguished. When similar winds broke out in early January, coal burst into flames. The two fires soon joined. Together, since June 12, they have burned 320,333 acres, accounting for two-thirds of the fire.
New Mexico Governor Michel Lujan Grisham also responded by urging federal agencies to reconsider their policy on the spring fire. Randy Moore, head of the United States Forest Service, responded by announcing a halt to the 90-day review period.
The explosions They were inevitably compared to the Sero Grande fire in New Mexico in 2000, which started as a fire and exited the Bandeleier National Monument to Los Alamos. It was the biggest slowdown in state history – so far.
Ordered fire cannot be resisted in principle. Controlled combustion seems to be a well-known source of fire that can reduce the risk of burns. States from Florida to California have amended accountability laws to encourage the burning of private land.
The real threat to fire management is the thousands of deaths that will be reduced. There is always something to stop an ordered fire. There is no similar method to compensate for the loss.
It is not news that Western fires are complex. In the early days of the 20th century, one response – the next morning at 10 o’clock – was over. It was an amazing administrative blow. There is no confusion, no agreement, one size fits all.
But it has aggravated the fire by encouraging ecological degradation and combustion. The change in policy was clear and necessary. Fire is inevitable, and we must manage it.
Today, all aspects of landscape fires are numerous. Fire control is not a thing; It embraces many strategies. It may refer to the protection of cities or the residence of Sage Gruz. It may look like an urban fire extinguisher, or it could be a fire within broad borders for safety, cost and environmental health.
It can range from extinguishing fires to mega-fires rolling on Continental DVD. It may include bulldozing or working with nature in municipal basins. In emergencies, it may mean preparing a fire that can be likened to a fire.
So, also, with the prescribed burn. It could be the burning of piles of wood or piles of piles. Or it could refer to wildfires that spread freely from acres to landscapes. It could mean burning fodder on a long lawn, cutting pine savanna, or introducing a nest for carner blue butterflies.
Wildfires act as a universal ecosystem. Well-ordered fires do the same thing.
The choice is not between one strategy or another; He is choosing from a variety of techniques, especially those that work on settings and seasons. We need them all because each strategy can fail on its own.
Fires escape at an initial rate of 2-3 percent. Ordered fires escape the National Park Service by 1.5 percent or less than 1 percent. Managing natural fires has a similar rate of failure. But when an escape occurs, the destructive news is made public.
Those figures are unlikely to decrease. We cannot control wildfires like a torch. All we can do is combine the strengths of each strategy with the strengths of the other.
A.D. An explosion in New Mexico in 2000 made the burning worse, but it led to a national fire plan. Twenty years later, the fireplace has become bigger, weaker, stronger. Hermit’s Peak Fire can carry more weight than Sero Grande.
Our future is bound to catch fire. The goal is always to find and hire the right fire mix for the land.
Steve Pine is a non-profit author with a Range to inspire a lively discussion about the West. He is a fire historian, urban farmer, and author of Pirosen.
