“There’s a feeling that we have control over fires, and the fact is we don’t,” said Southern Oregon University ecologist Dennis Odion.
Odion is co-author of “Learning to Coexist with Wildfire,” published in the journal Nature last Thursday. The paper examined the findings of more than 100 studies, and says wildfire should be treated like other natural disasters.
“You know earthquakes and hurricanes are viewed as something that we prepare for and do our best to withstand.”
In addition, these forest treatments are often focused on remote areas.
That means starting close in: Growing communities to minimize wildfire risk and focusing fire prevention resources on existing at-risk homes.
“This is a radical shift from the way we manage fire now.”
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