Cleveland National Forest Prescribed Fire Program Historically fire has been a natural part of our ecosystem. Throughout time wildfires ignited and burned naturally through the Forest. Some fires were caused by lightning and some were intentionally started by Native Americans. The Cleveland has a climate that is characterized by low rain fall, dead and down woody fuels, long dry summers and mild temperatures. This climate is characteristic of a mediterranean ecosystem for which fire is the natural decomposer.
Chaparral ecosystems contain many plants that are fire dependent species.
These ecosystems need fire to renew and maintain a healthy forest. For over a century we have fought forest fires aggressively. This exclusion of fire from the ecosystem has resulted in a substantial accumulation of dead trees and brush in the nation's forests. This dense accumulation of dead trees and brush presents a real danger to the forest and are expensive and difficult to control. Dead and down fuels, when burning, can burn at very high intensities which are difficult to control in a wildfire situation.