Prescribed Burn Associations Are One Answer to California's Megafires


Prescribed burns are fires set intentionally to reduce the fuel that can make wildfires so large and damaging. Despite the science favoring this approach for healthy ecosystems and fire prevention, government use of the strategy has remained small and stagnant. Local prescribed burn associations (PBAs) have filled some of the gap, educating and training landowners to conduct small-scale burns. PBAs cannot come close to filling the entire need. But they have prevented some disasters while returning fire management to local control, and to ancient native practices before fire suppression became the norm.

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