When It All Burns

1. Megafires: A New Era of Unpredictable Fire Behavior

In the past two decades, wildfires have been doing things not even computer models can predict, environmental events that have scientists racking their brains for appropriately dystopian terminology: firenadoes, firestorms, gigafires, megafires.

Unprecedented behavior. Wildfires today, termed "megafires," exhibit behaviors previously thought impossible, burning through winter, exploding at night, and devastating landscapes historically impervious to incendiary destruction. The author, a hotshot firefighter, witnessed this firsthand as a megafire threatened ancient sequoia groves, a species that once relied on fire for reproduction but is now pushed toward extinction by its intensity. This new reality challenges traditional firefighting knowledge, as survival depends on understanding a world that no longer exists.

Shifting patterns. Historically, fire was an integral part of Earth's ecosystems, a symbiotic force that shaped landscapes and life. However, human actions have fundamentally altered these fire regimes, leading to continental conflagrations that erase forests, incinerate towns, and drive species to the brink. The author's journey into firefighting began amidst California's most catastrophic fire season on record, where the entire state was veiled in a red haze, and traditional explanations for the fires seemed insufficient.

A global phenomenon. The escalation of wildfires is not unique to the American West; unprecedented fires are burning across Europe, North Africa, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, the Arctic, and the Amazon. These infernos are the effluence of a planet out of balance, signaling a profound shift in the relationship between humans and fire. The author's personal experience, from fighting a "benign forest creature" in Arizona to confronting a "dragon" in the Sierras, highlights the escalating scale and intensity of these new fires.

2. Indigenous Fire: A Suppressed History of Ecological Harmony

Fire is as woven into the fabric of life on our planet as the rains that wash its hills and the rivers that flow through its valleys.

Ancient wisdom. For millennia, Indigenous peoples in California and across the Americas skillfully used fire to manage landscapes, fostering biodiversity, enhancing food systems, and maintaining ecological balance. This practice, often called "cultural burning," was not merely mimicry of natural fire patterns but a sophisticated form of land stewardship that shaped entire ecosystems, creating a mosaic of habitats that supported abundant life.

Colonial suppression. The arrival of European colonizers marked a violent shift, as they systematically suppressed Indigenous burning practices.

• Spanish Missions: Criminalized Indigenous fire use, viewing it as "childish" and "destructive," to force self-sufficient communities into forced-labor camps and nascent market economies.
• American Genocide: Following California's statehood, the U.S. government and militias waged a genocidal campaign against Indigenous populations, simultaneously criminalizing fire use. This deliberate tactic aimed to destroy Indigenous economies and open land for exploitation, effectively extinguishing cultural fires along with the lives of those who lit them.

Lost knowledge. The suppression of Indigenous fire knowledge, often dismissed as "insidious doctrine" or "savage" practices, led to a century of fire exclusion. This policy, driven by colonial and industrial interests, created dense, unhealthy forests primed for catastrophic blazes. The author's research into historical archives revealed the systematic erasure of this vital ecological understanding, contributing to the very megafire crisis faced today.

3. The "War on Nature": A Legacy of Fire Suppression

Of all the foes which attack the woodlands of North America, no other is so terrible as fire.

Militarized approach. The U.S. Forest Service, founded in 1905, institutionalized a "war on nature" mentality, viewing fire as an enemy to be vanquished. This approach, championed by figures like Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt, aimed to protect timber reserves and "untouched wilderness" from what they perceived as a destructive force. This perspective, however, ignored millennia of Indigenous fire management and set the stage for future ecological imbalances.

Industrial influence. The logging industry quickly capitalized on this anti-fire stance, influencing Forest Service policies to prioritize timber extraction over ecological health.

• Clear-cutting: Forests were denuded, then replanted with single-species, dense plantations, creating highly flammable environments.
• Fire suppression as profit protection: The industry lobbied for total fire suppression to protect their "assets," transforming the Forest Service into a tax-subsidized vessel for corporate forestry.
  This shift created forests that were "optimal" in terms of board feet but "explosive" in terms of fire potential.

Perpetual conflict. The "war on nature" evolved into a self-perpetuating cycle, with military machines and command structures repurposed for firefighting. From Black Hawk helicopters to MREs, the wildland firefighting effort mirrors military operations, reinforcing a mindset of "search and destroy." This approach, while effective in containing individual fires, has inadvertently contributed to the larger problem by allowing fuel loads to accumulate and ecosystems to become increasingly vulnerable.

4. The Fire-Industrial Complex: Profit from Planetary Destruction

When perpetual conflict means perpetual profit, the goals of war blur.

Disaster capitalism. Megafires, while devastating, have become highly lucrative for a network of private corporations and industries. This "fire-industrial complex" profits from every stage of the disaster, from suppression efforts to post-fire salvage logging.

• Private Contractors: Companies like Halliburton manage fire camps, while private firefighting crews, often operating with scant labor laws, capture significant government contracts.
• Aerial Operations: Corporations like Perimeter Solutions (monopolizing fire retardant) and major aviation companies (leasing planes) earn millions from "election air shows" – expensive, often ineffective, aerial bombardments that signal public officials are "taking the threat seriously."

Salvage logging. Billionaires like Archie Aldis Emmerson profit immensely from "salvage logging," buying fire-damaged wood at a discount and clear-cutting burned areas. This practice, while profitable, disrupts ecological regeneration, churns soil, and releases stored carbon, creating future fire hazards. The cycle is self-perpetuating: more fires lead to more logging, which leads to more flammable forests.

Political influence. These corporations wield significant political influence, lobbying Congress to maintain policies that benefit their bottom line, often at the expense of effective fire prevention and worker rights. This creates a system where the very industries contributing to climate change and escalating disasters also profit from the response, ensuring that the "war on wildfires" remains "ever-increasing."

5. Frontline Sacrifice: The Human Cost of Wildland Firefighting

Burning alive is the most absolute violence hotshots face, but it is fairly uncommon.

Precarious existence. While catastrophic burnovers are rare, wildland firefighters face constant danger and a pervasive sense of dread. Injuries are common, from heatstroke and broken bones to severe burns and amputations. Yet, federal firefighters are classified as "forestry technicians," seasonal contract workers with low pay and inadequate benefits.

Financial ruin. This classification means:

• Base pay starts at $15/hour, often only exceeding minimum wage with hazard and overtime pay.
• Injured firefighters lose hazard and overtime pay, receiving only 80% of their base pay during recovery.
• Many rely on GoFundMe campaigns to cover medical bills, which can be catastrophic (e.g., $30,000 for an air ambulance, $200,000 for a broken back).
  This forces firefighters to work through injuries or risk financial ruin, turning their bodies into "sacrifice zones."

Mental and emotional toll. The relentless physical demands, constant exposure to trauma (including discovering bodies), and financial precarity take a severe toll on mental health. Suicide rates among wildland firefighters are double the national average. Relationships often fracture, with partners feeling "secondary to the job" and experiencing anxiety, depression, and emotional whiplash. The author's own experience, from feeling "schizophrenic dissonance" to witnessing colleagues break down, highlights the profound psychological impact of this work.

6. Sequoias: Sentinels of a Planet in Peril

Sequoias’ lives are monuments of deep time. Their death would signify something else.

Ancient resilience, new vulnerability. Giant sequoias, among the oldest organisms on Earth, have evolved over millennia to thrive with fire. Their thick bark, serotinous cones, and interconnected root systems made them seemingly immortal, surviving countless fires. However, in the last decade, they have begun to die at an unprecedented rate, signaling a profound shift in planetary conditions.

Cascading stresses. Their recent mortality is not due to a single cause but a combination of climate-driven stresses:

• Drought: Warmer winters and reduced snowpack lead to dry soil, causing trees to rupture internal water columns.
• Bark Beetles: Weakened by drought, sequoias become vulnerable to beetle infestations that girdle their phloem, effectively strangling them.
• Extreme Fire Behavior: Fires, intensified by climate change, now burn with such heat that they incinerate trees that once survived thousands of years of flames. The Castle Fire alone killed 10-14% of California's sequoia population in 2020.

Symbol of a changing world. The sequoias, once symbols of national perpetuity and resilience, now stand as poignant omens of a planet pushed into uncharted territory. Their struggle highlights that even the most fire-adapted species cannot withstand the current intensity of human-induced climate change. The author's personal connection to these trees underscores the gravity of their plight, as their survival portends the delicate balance of life on Earth.

7. Climate Change Denial: A Deliberate Strategy of Delay

The fossil fuel industry has produced more carbon in three short decades than was emitted in all of human history combined, with knowledge of the consequences.

Decades of deception. The fossil fuel industry has known about the catastrophic impacts of carbon emissions since the 1950s. Despite internal reports predicting "globally catastrophic effects" and the potential for "civilization to prove a fragile thing," they launched a deliberate campaign of climate change denial. This strategy, pioneered by the Koch brothers and amplified by media outlets like Fox News, aimed to "manufacture controversy where none existed" and sow doubt about established science.

Pivot to delayism. As scientific consensus became undeniable, the industry shifted from outright denial to "delayism." This new tactic downplays the threat while hobbling proven solutions, often by:

• Attacking renewables: Spreading misinformation about solar farms causing cancer or wind turbines being a "Trojan horse for communists."
• Promoting false solutions: Championing "unproven" technologies like carbon capture to justify continued fossil fuel extraction.
• Funding political opposition: Spending hundreds of millions to elect politicians who oppose climate action and dismantle environmental regulations.

Consequences of inaction. This sustained campaign has paralyzed political action, allowing fossil fuel corporations to claim record profits while atmospheric carbon levels reach unprecedented highs. The result is an acceleration of climate disasters, with the burden falling disproportionately on vulnerable communities and frontline workers like firefighters. The author's frustration with this "political nihilism" highlights how manufactured doubt serves to protect industry profits at the cost of planetary health.

8. Reclaiming Fire: Healing Land and Community

Returning to tradition doesn’t mean returning to the past. It means reconnecting with our ancestors. It means taking care of the land.

Indigenous leadership. After centuries of suppression, Indigenous tribes across California are leading the movement to revive cultural burning practices. This effort, now legally recognized, aims to restore ecological balance and heal fractured relationships with the land. Tribes like the Karuk, Yurok, Southern Sierra Miwuk, and Chumash are demonstrating how fire, when applied with traditional knowledge, can be a healing force.

Fire as medicine. For many Indigenous groups, fire is not just a tool but medicine for the land and community.

• Ecological benefits: Appropriate fire intensity and frequency can promote biodiversity, improve water quality, and rejuvenate native plants crucial for traditional practices (e.g., tule reeds for baskets).
• Social healing: The process of cultural burning can mend societal fractures, rebuild community connections, and revive ancestral languages and practices, offering a path to self-determined management of cultural and natural resources.

Beyond fuel reduction. Indigenous fire stewardship emphasizes a holistic perspective, focusing on "generation and regeneration" rather than just "forest goals" or fuel elimination. This contrasts with the military mentality of traditional fire suppression, which often reduces the land to mere fuel. The goal is to understand what "fire our biomes need" through intimacy and experience, not just calculations.

9. Bureaucracy and Distrust: Barriers to Regenerative Fire

Every attempt to mend California’s relationship with fire seemed to sink under the weight of mistakes, public outcries, litigation, and bureaucracy.

Slow progress. Despite scientific consensus, government support, and millions in funding, the expansion of prescribed burning in California is lagging significantly behind targets. This is due to a complex web of obstacles that hinder efforts to reintroduce healthy fire to the land.

Multifaceted challenges:

• Public Distrust: A legacy of destructive logging practices by the Forest Service has fostered deep public distrust, leading to opposition against even beneficial fuel reduction projects. Misinformation campaigns often conflate necessary thinning with "clear-cutting," fueling public outcry and litigation.
• Bureaucratic Hurdles: Layers of regulations and protocols, often designed for a cooler, more stable climate, create narrow windows of opportunity for burns. For example, rules preventing burns during oak budding now mean weeks-earlier bloom times eliminate the burn window.
• Legal Risks: Escaped prescribed fires, though rare, trigger public outrage and legal repercussions, leading to bans and increased restrictions that further hamper efforts. The financial and legal liability for individual burn bosses can be immense.

Conflicting perspectives. The debate over forest management often devolves into irreconcilable distrust, with each side claiming scientific authority and accusing the other of perverse financial incentives. This "parallel world where everything is opposite" paralyzes action, even when lives and ecosystems are at stake. The author's experience highlights the difficulty of navigating these entrenched conflicts, where "science isn't the issue."

10. Rebuilding Relationships: The Path to a Fire-Adapted Future

Cooperation would require developing trust. Trust requires relationships. And relationships take time to build.

Beyond the fireline. The solution to California's megafire crisis extends beyond simply fighting fires; it requires a fundamental shift in how society relates to fire, the land, and each other. This involves rebuilding trust and fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders, from government agencies and scientists to local communities and Indigenous tribes.

Fostering collaboration:

• Humility and Listening: Government agencies, like the Forest Service in Lake County, are beginning to acknowledge past mistakes and listen to Indigenous perspectives, recognizing that "truth and reconciliation" are starting points for collaboration.
• Shared Goals: Successful partnerships, such as the Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance, demonstrate how aligning cultural objectives with ecological goals can lead to effective land management and community empowerment.
• Building Trust: Foresters like Michelle actively engage with conservationists, inviting them to project sites and addressing their concerns, transforming opposition into support through transparent communication and relationship-building.

Addressing economic incentives. The economic impacts of fire and smoke, such as "smoke taint" in vineyards, create tension and resistance to prescribed burns. Solutions require:

• Better Science: More research into smoke impacts to provide clear answers and reduce fear of unknown effects.
• Policy Innovation: Measures like state insurance funds and liability transfers can mitigate financial risks for burners, encouraging more prescribed fire.
• Community Engagement: Ensuring that local communities, including grape growers, have a say in where, when, and how prescribed burns happen can foster cooperation.

11. The Enduring Paradox: Fighting Fire to Heal the Land

By fighting fires, we ensured they would continue to grow. But they were already so massive that we had no choice.

A necessary evil. The author grapples with the paradox of modern firefighting: the very act of suppressing fires, while necessary to protect lives and property from current megafires, has contributed to the ecological conditions that make these fires worse. Forests, loaded with fuel due to a century of fire exclusion, are now primed to burn with unprecedented intensity.

Adapting to a new reality. The planet is undergoing a "biological system update," with ecosystems struggling to adapt to rapidly changing climate conditions. This means:

• Unpredictable Patterns: Fire seasons are becoming year-round, with extreme events occurring at unexpected times.
• Ecological Transformation: Forests are transitioning to brush, grasslands, or deserts, with significant loss of biodiversity and carbon storage capacity.
• The Need for Action: While the long-term solution involves decarbonization and reintroducing healthy fire, immediate suppression remains critical to prevent further catastrophic loss.

Investing in human solutions. The attrition of experienced federal wildland firefighters due to poor conditions, inadequate pay, and lack of support is a critical threat. These individuals, with decades of accumulated knowledge and skill, are society's "most finely tuned technological assets" in adapting to a burning planet. Investing in their well-being and expertise is crucial for navigating the escalating climate crisis. The author's own departure from the hotshots, driven by personal and relational costs, underscores the unsustainable nature of the current system.

Last updated: August 15, 2025