Summer means peak wildfire season. And recently, we’ve seen some of the most destructive wildfires in recorded history. For years the message around fire has been: no fire is good.

But increasingly, we’re starting to fight fire with fire. Prescribed burns may help prevent large, catastrophic wildfires. While using fire as a tool to manage the forest may be a relatively new concept to some, Indigenous communities have used fire to manage their environment for thousands of years. Is it time to rethink our relationship with wildfire?

Guests:

Susan Prichard, Fire Ecologist, University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences

Ana Alanis, Founder, Hungry for Climate Action

Nick Mott, Multimedia journalist

Frank Kanawha Lake, Research Ecologist and Tribal Liaison, USDA Forest Service

This episode was supported by the Resources Legacy Fund.

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CLIMATE ONE: Rekindling Our Relationship With Wildfire