Reexamining Fire Suppression Impacts on Brushland Fire Regimes

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 284; no. 5421; pp. 1829 - 1832
• Main Authors: Keeley, Jon E., Fotheringham, C. J., Morais, Marco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 11-06-1999; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Brush fires; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Counties; Ecology; Environment; Environmental degradation: ecosystems survey and restoration; Fire behavior; Fire damage; Fire ecology; Fire regimes; Fire suppression; Forest & brush fires; Forest and land fires; Forest fires; Fuels; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Grassland fires; Inferences; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Shrublands; Statistical Analysis; Weather damages. Fires; Wildfires; California; United States; North America; America; United States > US; Correlation; Statistical analysis; Vegetation type; Seasonal variation; Shrub; Urbanization; Frequency; Population density; Canopy fire; Burning
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.284.5421.1829

California shrubland wildfires are increasingly destructive, and it is widely held that the problem has been intensified by fire suppression, leading to larger, more intense wildfires. However, analysis of the California Statewide Fire History Database shows that, since 1910, fire frequency and area burned have not declined, and fire size has not increased. Fire rotation intervals have declined, and fire season has not changed, implying that fire intensity has not increased. Fire frequency and population density were correlated, and it is suggested that fire suppression plays a critical role in offsetting potential impacts of increased ignitions. Large fires were not dependent on old age classes of fuels, and it is thus unlikely that age class manipulation of fuels can prevent large fires. Expansion of the urban-wildland interface is a key factor in wildland fire destruction.