Fire & Wildfires

Introduction

We often think of fire as purely destructive, but in certain contexts it can be a useful tool or step towards rejuvenation. 

This page explores both the good and bad of fires, including how to reduce fire risks and how to use fire responsibly as a tool to replenish unhealthy landscapes.

Contributors to Fire Risk

Global Warming

"Overall, Earth was about 2.45 degrees Fahrenheit (or about 1.36 degrees Celsius) warmer in 2023 than in the late 19th-century (1850-1900) preindustrial average. The 10 most recent years are the warmest on record." - NASA


Droughts

Drier conditions not only turn landscape into potential fire kindling, but they can make the water needed to fight fires more scarce.

Heat Waves & Increased Fire Risk

These are generally caused by prolonged time periods without any cooling rain. They are becoming more frequent, more extreme, and longer lasting thanks to climate change, thanks to increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Higher temperatures and drier conditions make fires and wild fires much more common. In Australia, higher ground temperatures in livestock pastures created previously-unseen conditions that melted a farmer's thermometer.

Invasive Species

Some invasive species increase fire risks in certain environments. In the Piney Wood Forests of North America for example, the native trees and vines are fire resistant, however the invasive vines now growing in those woods, can catch fire and help it spread up to the canopy where it can cause severe harm to the trees.

Problems Caused by Fires

Air Pollution

This means an increase of airborne pollution which can impact climate, weather, water quality, soils, while negatively affecting peoples' health (especially heart and lungs).

Housing & Infrastructure

Fires & Floods Destroy Homes Until People Can't Afford to Rebuild or Move

Power Outages

A large percentage of fires in certain regions are caused by powerlines interacting with objects such as tree branches or balloons. These can then start fire, but damage to power infrastructure can be caused by fires.

Communities are increasingly choosing the more expensive, but safer option of placing power lines underground instead of near or over roadways where they can become entangled with trees or fall across roadways, which can cut off people's escape routes during fires.

Biodiversity Loss & Extinction

"Nearly 3 billion koalas, kangaroos and other native Australian animals were killed or displaced by bushfires in 2019 and 2020, showed a study by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), triple the organisation's earlier estimates.

Some 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds and 51 million frogs were impacted by the country's worst bushfires in decades, the WWF said on Tuesday.

The fires destroyed over 11 million hectares (37 million acres) across the Australian southeast, equal to about half the area of the United Kingdom. When they were blazing, the WWF estimated the number of affected animals at 1.25 billion."

...

"The total includes animals displaced because of destroyed habitats and which now face a lack of food and shelter or the prospect of moving to already occupied habitats.

Researchers said the destruction will see some species become extinct before their existence is even recorded." - Reuters 

Tools, Guides, & Resources

Africa

Note for Rewilding-Based Solution

Rewilding with Iberian Ibex might be a good species to consider for this type of program.

"The Portuguese ibex (Capra pyrenaica lusitanica) is an extinct subspecies of Iberian ibex that inhabited the north mountainous zones of Portugal, Galicia, Asturias and western Cantabria. In size and colouration it was much like the Spanish animals, though inclining towards brown rather than black markings. Its horns were strikingly different from any of the other Iberian subspecies." - Wikipedia: Portuguese Ibex

North America

USA

California

Oklahoma

Missouri

New Jersey

Tennessee

Organizations

The following organizations help reduce the impact of fire. Some promote controlled burning at specific times of year in appropriate locations, to prevent bigger, more dangerous fires later in the year. Others educate farmers on affordable ways to avoid crop burning. 

International

Africa

Angola

Namibia

South Africa

North America

Canada

USA

 Alabama

Arkansas

California

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Kansas

Missouri

Nebraska

Nevada

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Oregon

South Dakota

Texas

Wyoming

Oceana

Australia

South Australia

Western Australia

Maps

North America

USA

California

Oregon

Oceana

Australia

Western Australia

Education, Training & Certification Opportunities

North America

Canada

USA

Oregon


Organizations

North America

USA

The goal of A2 is to help communities fight back. We do that by providing them organizing support, scientific and technical guidance, and better access to foundation and government funding. Most of all, our work consists of listening to our frontline leaders. Their experience, research, and solidarity guide everything we do, and offer a path toward environmental and social justice.

Supported by outstanding partner organizations with expertise in engineering, hydrology, public health, planning, and the law, A2 leaders have successfully halted developments in climate-vulnerable areas; implemented nature-based hazard mitigation strategies; organized home buyouts; and pushed for clean-ups at superfund sites, toxic landfills, and petrochemical plants.

We support everyone we can, but our special priority is people who have suffered the worst environmental impacts for the longest time; that usually means low-income, Black, Latinx, Native American and other underserved communities.

To learn about our policies, read our A 10-Point Platform on Climate Change."

Grants & Funding

Related Topics