After Yarnell, experts look to Indigenous practices to slow wildfire growth

The Yarnell Hill Fire burned 8,400 acres in 2013, but experts have predicted that larger, fiercer wildfires would increasingly be the norm in a hotter, drier West.

In the 10 years since the fire that took the lives of 19 firefighters, records show an overall upward trend in fire frequency and size, fueled by ongoing droughts that are supercharged by climate change, bark beetle infestations, diseases like sudden oak death syndrome, and development creeping deeper into woods or shrub lands.

Some fire experts also say accumulated dead matter like leaves, small branches and debris left over from logging or fire suppression contribute to hotter, faster-burning fires with more of a tendency to "crown" or spread through the tops of trees and shrubs.

At the same time, a growing number of studies by archaeologists and fire historians point to Indigenous peoples' use of fire in clearing brush, enhancing the growth of important plants and keeping wildfires away from communities.

More states are taking proactive steps in hardening at-risk communities and reducing the accumulation of "duff," dead or dying plant materials that act as gasoline when lightning, hot vehicle exhaust, runaway campfires or a carelessly flicked cigarette butt ignites a wildfire.

Much of that is the legacy of a century of fire suppression, which fire scientists are coming to recognize as a contributing factor to ever-larger fires. A study released in January argued that fire exclusion in the West has changed fire frequency and burn severity.

Fire historians: Heed Indigenous people when they talk 'good fire'

Christopher Roos, an environmental archaeologist and a professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, has studied how Indigenous peoples in the Southwest stewarded their lands with fire and other methods over millennia.

"I wanted to document history in ways that had been overlooked in more conventional studies," said Roos (pronounced "rose"). Working recently in northern Arizona, he and his team examined archaeological sites built by Native people 800 to 1,000 years ago to learn if modern wildfire intensities and severities are unprecedented.

In one study, Roos showed how ancestral Pueblo peoples used fire for a range of purposes, such as clearing fields for agriculture and water ditches, promoting wild plant resources for food, medicine and craft materials, harvesting game and for other cultural needs. His work has also shown how Western Apache people made use of fire in similar ways.

"The smell of smoke was once as common out on the land as the sound of birds," he said.

He said documenting traditional fire knowledge and practices has been affected by the historical and ongoing consequences of colonialism.

"It was like Indigenous people didn't matter," Roos said.

Wildfire management: In California, women learn how to protect their ancestral lands with fire

Jared Dahl Aldern, an environmental historian and fire practitioner who works with tribes on documenting Indigenous fire stewardship, said wildfires are always going to be part of ecosystems. Fires should be viewed from the aspect of how would a wildfire going to affect the land.

"That's what managed fire is all about," he said.

Aldern noted the work of earlier fire historians like Stephen Pyne, as well as the growing field of pyrogeography, the study of the historical, biological, atmospheric and social perspectives of fire. He also pointed to the recent work of Don Hankins, a Plains Miwok and a professor at Chico State University, and Crystal Kolden, an associate professor at the University of California, Merced.

The Inter Tribal Timber Council publishes an assessment of tribal forest management, known as IFMAT, every 10 years. The third IFMAT addressed how tribal foresters are responding to climate change, using traditional ecological knowledge, or TEK, as a foundation.

"Guided by TEK and closeness to the land, active management allows for the experimentation, learning and adjustment that will be needed to keep pace with the trends and surprises of a changing climate," the report said.

Fuel reduction, community preparation are keys to dealing with fires

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management provides fire protection to state and private lands. Among other programs, the agency works on fuel mitigation and manages the Forest Stewardship Program and Firewise USA, which teaches residents how to live with wildfire.

Currently, about 125 Arizona communities are recognized as Firewise USA communities. To be certified, a community must take certain steps, such as creating a wildfire risk assessment and action plan. Residents are required to "harden" their homes and outbuildings, guarding against fires according to the plan. The work involves more than just the 30- to 100-foot clearance of debris, so volunteering is encouraged and volunteer hours count toward fulfilling the plan's requirements.

Roos, who has worked in the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests this summer, said forest thinning has greatly increased over past years. Though major fires like the Pipeline Fire and Schultz Fire left scars, trees have survived. And, he said, "both lightning and people may start fires but the outcomes aren't always the same," referring to the difference between managed fires and wildfires.

A study of wildfires in California said climate change accounted for recent increases in fire footprints known as burned areas. Although climate change exacerbates conditions like drought and lightning storms that can cause or make fires worse, Aldern said a more holistic approach to managing and mitigating wildfires is in order.

"Stop thinking in terms of acreage," Aldern said, quoting noted Indigenous fire steward Ron Goode, chairman of the North Fork Mono Tribe in the Sierra Foothills of Central California. The key to reducing the severity of fires, he said, is working the land every day.

"That's what managed fire is all about," Aldern said. "Fires can be doing good work: 'good fire, good burn.'"

Indigenous practices: As fires rage across the West, White Mountain Apache forests show a balance of tradition, economy

Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on Twitter at @debkrol. 

Coverage of Indigenous issues at the intersection of climate, culture and commerce is supported by the Catena Foundation.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: After Yarnell, experts point to tribal practices in slowing wildfires