麻豆影院

Wildfires can happen naturally 鈥� but in the U.S., humans start most of them聽

Jennifer Balch thinks a lot about a millennia-old question: How can humans coexist with fire鈥檚 devastating power?

The U.S. has experienced some of its largest wildfires in recent years, and her research shows that humans bear much of the blame.

In a 2017 study, the CU 麻豆影院 geographer found that humans ignited 84 percent of American wildfires from 1992 to 2012, making fire season a year-round phenomenon and increasing annual firefighting costs to $2 billion.

The comprehensive study underscored the extent that humans can 鈥� and do 鈥攁ffect the landscape with fire.

鈥淔ire is an integral part of human existence,鈥� said Balch, who directs the campus鈥� Earth Lab. 鈥淏ut we are also vulnerable to it.鈥�

Americans raised on Smokey the Bear鈥檚 warnings might assume all wildfires should be eliminated. But Balch said some burns can be helpful.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a misconception that fire is unnatural in the ecosystem, but it鈥檚 more complex than that,鈥� she said.

Balch began researching wildfire in southern Venezuela in 2002. There the indigenous Pem贸n tribe deliberately burns overgrowth to keep it from fueling large wildfires. The U.S. may need to intensify its use of proactive, managed burns to curb wildfire destruction, she said.

Balch next plans to use satellite technology and terrestrial mapping to identify areas where humans and wildfires are likely to overlap.聽

Illustration by Richard Mia Collection