The story of fire can be confusing. You are asked to prevent wildfires, yet park personnel set prescribed fires. Fires are given different labels, depending on whether or not they are wanted. They are suppressed because they threaten lives, property, survival of the forest, or because they are too difficult to manage when and where they start.
Fire suppression is a tremendous risk to firefighters, and consumes millions of tax dollars.
The Kaweah Fire in August 1996 was started by a car's exhaust pipe in dry grass on a road shoulder. On the other hand, fire does contribute to forest health and public safety. Prescribed fire, whether started by nature or planned by people, is a carefully managed tool to achieve such goals. A prescription is the window within which a fire may be ignited. These conditions maximize our ability to control the fire and to minimize smoke in local communities.