Wildfire 19
Wildfire 19 : Policy: Today, it is not uncommon for suppression operations for a single wildfire to exceed costs of $1 million in just a few days. Although fire suppression offers many benefits to society, other options for fire management exist. While these options cannot completely replace fire suppression as a fire management tool, other options can play an important role in overall fire management and can therefore affect the costs of fire suppression. The application of fire management tools requires making certain tradeoffs. Below is a sample of some costs and benefits associated with the tools currently used in fire management. Current approaches to fire management are an almost complete turnaround compared to historic approaches. In fact, it is commonly accepted that past fire suppression, along with other factors, has resulted in larger, more intense wildfire events which are seen today. In economic terms, expenditures used for wildfire suppression in the early 20th century have contributed to increased suppression costs which are being realized today. As is the case with many public policy issues, costs and benefits associated with particular fire management tools are difficult to accurately quantify. Ultimately, costs and benefits should be weighed against one another on a case-by-case basis in planning wildland fire management operations. Depending on the tradeoffs that a land manager is willing to make, a combination of the following fire management tools could be used. For instance, prescribed fire and/or mechanical fuels reduction could be used to help prevent or lessen the intensity of a wildfire thereby reducing or eliminating suppression costs. In addition, prescribed fire and/or mechanical fuels reduction could be used to improve soil conditions in fields or in forests to the benefit of wildlife or natural resources. On the other hand, the use of prescribed fire requires much advanced planning and can have negative impacts on human health in nearby communities
No records Found