In support of the Eastern Sierra Fire Restoration and Maintenance Project

The Inyo National Forest proposes to use prescribed fire on 140,000 acres per decade in the eastern Sierra Nevada outside of designated wilderness in conifer and aspen vegetation types to achieve and maintain desired conditions where fire historically occurred at high to moderate frequencies.

We (the American People) need to insist our Federal Government fund the Forest Service to do all the work we ask them to do, and the list is long—from forest and fire management to recreation management, watershed and meadow protection, FERC (hydropower) relicensing, range management, special use permits, mines and geology, clear air concerns, archaeology, wildlife and botany, public safety, and law enforcement and more. This must include direction and funding for the Federal and State Fire Protection and Land and Air Managers to work collaboratively together and with Stakeholders/public to fund and conduct a ten-fold increase of prescribed fire.

Managed natural ignitions also have an important role to play in making our forests resilient. The Lions Fire of 2018 started by a lightning strike in early June, in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, was managed by the Sierra National Forest, and later co-managed by the Inyo National Forest, for multiple resource benefits and had no risks to structures and public safety (Sierra NF June 24, 2018). Burning within desired conditions across more than 13,000 acres, the Lions Fire helped prevent the Creek Fire from burning into Mammoth Lakes.

What does this tell us? That “good fire” applied at expanded ecological scales can make a difference in these damaging outcomes we are experiencing from wildfires throughout California. Fire in California, either from lightning or Native American cultural burning and now also planned fire initiated by local, state, and federal fire managers can return resilience to these landscapes. It is past time to lift the policy barriers, expand the trained workforce, and for us all to do the work around our homes and communities. There is no-no Fire Option in California. Working with fire and maintaining our precious resources and restoration investments with all the tools is critical for a fire-resilient future.

We all understand and feel the effects of fire-related smoke to our health, businesses, and recreational opportunities. At the same time, understanding the landscapes we live in and how they have operated to support resilience is also critical. California and its Mediterranean climate is one (of six) of the most naturally fireprone landscapes on Earth (Moreira et al. 2020). With roughly 40-million humans (the primary ignition source for most fires) and with most (60%) fires starting on private lands (Downing et al. 2022) that burn across boundaries with Federal lands, we own a lot of problems with associated ignitions and smoke. Add to that over one million lightning strikes tracked during a 1985-2000 fire research effort (van Wagtendonk and Cayan 2008) clearly suggests that fire and smoke are here to stay.

What can we do to have some say in these fire outcomes? Support projects like the Inyo National Forest 140,000 acre, 10-year fire restoration strategy and get involved in community fire resilience efforts. Do your defensible space work around your homes. Contact the local Air District at https://www.gbuapcd.org/ to get air quality information for local communities and to find information on how to minimize the impact of smoke to your health and your family and friends. You can reach out to the Forest Service and learn about pending prescribed fire ignitions and above all support their work.

Fire and Smoke aren’t going away but we can work together to understand and help build fire resilience and to better protect public health.

For more information go to www. firerestorationgroup.org

Craig Thomas, Director, The Fire Restoration Group Brent Skaggs, Contractor, The Fire Restoration Group