As such, throughout history, in nearly every culture worldwide, fire has been used as a management tool. For example, during Carthaginian domination of the Mediterranean in the sixth century B.C., the plants and trees in Sardinia, Italy, were burnt to facilitate agricultural production. With the use of fire as a tool in the preparation of land for agricultural use came the realization that if fire spread out of control, the negative secondary effects often far outweighed the anticipated benefits. When the Romans followed the Carthaginians in controlling the Mediterranean basin, they continued to use fire in the preparation of agricultural land, but they also protected the woodlands and prescribed severe penalties for those who set unauthorized fires. The Romans were justified in their concern, for the climatic and vegetative characteristics of the region combine to produce a particularly high potential for destructive wildfire.
Fire damage is by no means confined to southern Europe.
Wildfires burn uncounted millions of hectares of African savannah each year. In Asia, a single fire in Kalimantan, Indonesia, damaged more than 3.6 million ha in 1982. In North America, notwithstanding extensive, highly sophisticated prevention and control efforts, more than 2.3 million ha of forest land still bum each year. In the portions of Latin America with extended dry seasons, much of the existing forest vegetation manifests adaptability to fire. An interview with M. Salazar, head of forest protection for the Honduran forest development corporation, offers insights into control of forest fire in the Central American context.