These fires set by the Indians controlled the duff and eliminated the fire ladders. These frequent fires made the forest immune to extensive ground fires. He explained that a crown fire is one that leaves the ground, goes up into the trees, and then spreads through the forest and kills all of the trees on site. Mr. Moody explained that thorough research failed to turn up any literature on crown fires in Arizona before 1900. This is probably because of the frequent burns by the Native Americans.
Fire is a part of our ecosystem.
He went on to explain that old trees that had been previously burned have scars which are highly flammable. He stated that a cross section of a tree is like a history book. Every fire that passes across the landscape is recorded in time in a tree. He said that the United States Forest Service has records of fires in the Southwest that date back 2000 years. He mentioned that fires stopped at the turn of the century.