Tom Ribe 10/2/23 Tom Ribe 10/2/23

Doing What (Be)Comes Natural: Cut, Pile, Burn

On some snowy February days, I drove from my cabin, crossed the Rio Grande Valley north of Santa Fe, and joined other firefighters at sunrise in an icy, snowy place in the Jemez Mountains. I’m used to working on fires in the spring, summer or fall, but here we were with layers of warm gear under our fireproof clothing, blowing into our hands and standing in the sun when it finally came up. Then we set out to burn piles of slash on a snowy slope, deep in the Valles Caldera National Preserve.

Guest User 9/18/23 Guest User 9/18/23

Oregon Landowner Brings Good Fire Back to the Forest

Rich Fairbanks knows what a healthy forest looks like, so when he and his wife bought forested land in the Little Applegate Valley in Southern Oregon in 2003, he started making plans to bring fire back to the land.

“These forests historically saw fire, on average, about every six to ten years” said Fairbanks. Rich holds a M.S. in Fire Science, is a founding FUSEE Board Member, and has semi-retired after a 32 year career with the Forest Service.

“Since 1911, we have been suppressing fires to the maximum extent possible” Fairbanks adds. This has decreased biodiversity, allowed more fuel to build up, and led to higher intensity fires.

Mike Beasley 8/7/23 Mike Beasley 8/7/23

Chief Moore's New Direction on Prescribed Fire

In his 2023 Letter of Direction to USDA wildland firefighters, Chief Randy Moore made a significant change in tone and language when it comes to the use of prescribed fire.

FUSEE 10/24/19 FUSEE 10/24/19

10 Ways that the Climate Crisis, Wildfires and Militarism are Intertwined

The war on wildland fire is simply an extension of our country’s extreme militarism – a place where veterans of foreign wars, wanna-be cops, and other conservative-minded men, mostly, can assemble, bond, and wrap themselves in a narrative of strength, heroism and sacrifice. There is a place for men and women to suppress fires near homes and vulnerable infrastructure. However, claiming glorious victory when fires are easiest to suppress, go out on their own, or when a break in the weather moderates conditions is disingenuous.