California has 20 million acres that need fuel reduction - like tree thinning and prescribed burning. California State and the Forest Service have pledged to treat 1 million acres a year by 2025, but last year they did less than ? of that. Fire managers are often unable to plan and implement prescribed burns because they are redirected to fire suppression when California's fire season starts.
Watch this video by the New York Times to Meet the People Burning California to Save It.
Has your homeowner’s insurance increased significantly due to fire risk?
Thinning our forests and introducing fire in a healthy way is important not just for decreasing the risk of mega-fires. This article by The Nature Conservancy Ecological Forest Thinning and Prescribed Burns Lower Insurance Premiums Significantly explains why forest treatments to thin forests can reduce your insurance bill.
Here is what you can do to help get healthy fire back on our landscape:
- Support the federal, state, and local governments in getting fire on the landscape by showing your support for field reduction and prescribed fire projects.
- Educate yourself and others on what a healthy forest and healthy fires look like and why forest treatments are so important.
- Help firefighters by creating defensible space around your home: https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/ready-set-go/.
- If you are lucky enough to own a lot of land or want to volunteer to help with prescribed burning, many counties in California are starting Prescribed Burning Associations (PBA). PBAs are community-based networks that help private landowners put healthy fires on their land. Check for a PBA near you to see if you can help https://calpba.org.
