Myth: "prescribed burning of forests will get out of control and make things worse"
Most people don't understand that control burns are carefully planned out to mimic smaller fires that naturally occur to prevent insect infestations and overcrowding in forests. Prescribed burning is also done during seasons where fire will NOT pose a threat. I wish for more towns, especially those closer to forests and more vulnerable to the impacts of larger forest fires to be aware of the benefits of control burns. Fires are quantitively different than they once were. The impact of these "super-fires" on forests is devastatingly destroying our forests. But suppressing fires from occurring at all isn't going to help the situation. I propose we educate more people on how control burns help to prevent forest fires from spreading and replenish the health of forests, especially in places that will be impacted the most by larger "super-fires."
Hi Hooria,
I think you made a really great point in stating that people often think controlled burns will spiral out of control- causing this damaging fires but they're actually carefully managed to mimic natural fires and keep forests healthy!! It's important for communities, especially in fire-prone areas, to know and understand how these controlled burns can help prevent those super destructive fires!
Hey, having spent time in rural BC communities, I think the education of control burns is very important. People who live in those commmunities are aware of them, but a large proportion of society living in cities is likely unaware. Thank you for bringing this up!
hi Hooria, thank you for bringing this up since I am aware that many people simply have minimal knowledge of controlled fires! Do you have ways specific to educating values of controlled burns? Do you aim to focus on education for the young ones or the general public?
Hi Hooria, I agree that it is essential that we educated on controlled burns. It is likely that people worry about burns going out of control as they do not know how the fire is going to be controlled. Thus, by educating people, they would gain a greater understanding of how fires work and how controlled fires are contained, contributing to increased support for prescribed burning as a preventive measure for wildfires.
Agreed!
Hello Hooria, miscommunication, lack of trust and open-mindedness are some of the factors that lead to these myths. Therefore, we need more authorities to step up and designing more measures to keep the general public scientifically informed so they can have a clear perspective and support the environmental efforts.
Hi Hooria! This a super insightful post on the subject! I am wondering that when it comes to planning these controlled burns, how do experts determine the best times and places?
Hi Hooria, I was actually so surprised to hear that most people are scared of prescribed fires??? How? I think I was exposed to this knowledge a bit early on and got accustomed to it. But I agree, we must provide people with the necessary education to understand the facts and do what's right for the planet!
You raise an interesting point about towns and people living close to wildfire. If people are living in smoke and under threat of property damage, I wonder what sort of considerations land managers who don't personally face those same threats would have to take into account talking to those communities? For example if you lived in/around Lytton, i can imagine that it'd be very hard to hear that we need more fires.