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Facts on Wildfires

Fire through the ages
For as long as there have been forest in the West, there have been fires. Through the centuries, native plants and animals have evolved in the presence of recurring fire. Many species actually require fire to ensure their survival. Knobcone pines need the intense heat of a fire to open their cones and release seeds onto the newly barren ground. Another example of a fire-dependent species is the redwood. The cones of the giant redwood require the dry heat of a fire to open. When a redwood drops its seeds to the forest floor, the seeds will not sprout unless the ground has been recently cleared by fire, flood, or some other natural disturbance.

Much of California was once blanketed by vast stands of old-growth forests. Many of these forests had huge, widely spaced trees and an open understory. The closed tree canopy provided ideal habitat for many species of wildlife, and helped keep the forest floor cool and moist. Native Americans helped maintain the forest structure by routinely setting small fires to stimulate the growth of desirable plants and clear out the crowded forest understory.

Clear-cut legacy
Today, some of our forests look very different. Decades of logging and fire suppression have dramatically altered forest composition and structure in some areas. Forests featuring big trees -- old-growth forests -- are extremely rare. Clear-cuts have led to plantations filled with small, tightly packed trees. Many of these forests are vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire. Interestingly, the forests least at risk are those that have been spared from logging.

More logging is not the answer
The timber industry and the Forest Service would like us to believe that only increased logging will heal our forests. They ignore the fact that it was logging that helped create the fire problem in the first place! By removing the biggest, most fire resistant trees and leaving behind the smaller trees, limbs and brush, logging dramatically increases the risk and severity of wildfire. According to the 1996 Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project (SNEP) report to Congress, "Timber harvest...has increased fire severity more than any other recent human activity."

Furthermore, logging has many other severe impacts on forest ecosystems. Logging leads to severe erosion and sedimentation, causing the loss of irreplaceable topsoil. This soil often runs into rivers, ruining the habitat for salmon and trout and degrading water quality for urban dwellers. Logging also destroys critical wildlife habitat and has helped push several species, such as the spotted owl, to the brink of extinction.

For more information
For more information on wildfires, see the California Wilderness Coalition's report, Wildfire in California, which is available on our website in the Resource Center section.