How to Use Fire to Help Things Grow

Wildland firefighters use canisters with a metal torch that drips fuel onto the ground. Using fire to help things grow might seem counterintuitive, but it's a tool indigenous peoples have used for time and memorial. What the fire does is clear out weedy vegetation that can compete with other native plants trying to root in the soil. With bare ground, seeds have the space to germinate and grow into strong seedlings.