Understanding The Fire Paradox: Why We Need Fire To Prevent Fire

A lab is disproving many theories about how fire spreads. It's studying fire to learn how changing climate conditions affect its behavior.

For many decades, the U.S. Forest Service ran on a policy of full suppression when it came to wildfires.

In 1911, the Forest Service stopped using ground fires to thin fuels, and in 1935, a new policy went into effect to put out all wildland fires within 24 hours of detection. They ditched that policy in the 70s, but now, a new bill introduced by two California Republicans aims to bring that strategy back.  

The problem is that scientists say it’s the exact opposite of what we need to do, and that’s because many don’t understand why fire does what it does and why that matters.