If you discover a fire in the forest, including an unattended campfire, please call 911 as soon as possible. Provide as much information as you can about the fire s location road numbers, intersections, trail names, name of the nearest campground and distance to those locations. Drive carefully firefighters may have already been notified, and crews and equipment could be traveling to the fire on Forest roads. More homes might have been saved if intensive efforts had been made to reduce wildland fuels on a community-wide basis. Fire is an integral element of California s wildland environment, playing a beneficial role in fertilizing soil and propagating fire-dependent species of trees and shrubs.
Wildfires also benefit wildlife.
Herbivores such as deer prefer the tender grasses and young shoots that spring up after a fire, and predators prey on the animals that fatten on the fresh vegetation. There are no signs of this trend relenting. In such circumstances, a fire turns from a cyclical, natural wildland phenomenon to a despoiler of private property, and on occasion causes the loss of human life. Potentially hazardous fuel loads are best handled by removing them, say the experts. A combination of controlled burning, ax and chainsaw work or a combination of the two practices can be used.