This year, fires in Washington, New Mexico, Colorado, and Florida have already been getting national headlines. The Cerro Grande fire that ravaged Los Alamos, NM, in early May started as a prescribed burn, and raised special concerns because it threatened an area where nuclear weapons research was being done. Eventually, it destroyed at least 235 homes and burned some 50,000 acres. But the big headline fires obscure the fact that wildfire is a recurring natural and seasonal event in many parts of the country. As this article was being written in late July, some 59,664 wildfires had already burned 3,231,204 acres nationwide in the year 2000 alone.
Fires provide great visuals and stories of heroism and despair.
Wildfires, obviously, get the most coverage when they kill or injure people or destroy homes. But the less obvious human and environmental impacts of wildfires are as important as the main stories. They affect the livelihood of ranchers, fishing guides, and sawmill hands. They help whole ecosystems regenerate. They can cause other unforeseen impacts like erosion, landslides, and water pollution.