What is the history of fire in California?

Fire is an integral part of California’s ecosystems; many native plants have adapted to fire or even rely on fire as a part of their life cycle. Beneficial fire has been used as a land stewardship tool for many thousands of years by indigenous people of California, until they were prohibited from burning in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, many Tribes are leading the movement to bring fire back to Californian lands. Native people may practice both prescribed and cultural burning – the intentional application of fire to the land to enhance cultural or natural resources such as acorns, basket weaving materials, hunting grounds, and/or habitat for key wildlife species. Like prescribed burning, cultural burning also helps control the intensity and spread of wildfire.

California’s fire history has always included wildfires too. Because beneficial fire was outlawed for over a century, huge swaths of land went unmanaged, resulting in fuel buildup in our forests. Excess fuel loads and overcrowded, unhealthy forests have intensified catastrophic wildfires in recent history. By using prescribed fire, a cost-effective and community-oriented tool, individuals and communities can help to prevent more damage from wildfire and improve the health of our ecosystems.