scorched mountains

Prior to man  discovering how to make a fire, there was no hot food, cooked meat or "central heating" or light inside the cave. And without the "discovery" of fire, we would not have iron and other ores, steam engines could not be invented and, in fact, the entire industrial revolution would not have happened. Indeed, our world would be very different.

As with most "advances," along with the ability to make or do something comes a responsibility to do so wisely. Early on man learned to control his fires by clearing away vegetation and using rocks as a container. Later, fireplaces were built to safely contain cooking and heating fire. Fires were not left unattended. Fire brigades and volunteer fire departments are thousands of years old. And, of course, in more modern times buildings are inspected, must have smoke detectors, fire escapes and fire extinguishers. The US Forest Service monitors for wildfires and coordinates efforts to contain them. They issue the fire hazard warnings and allow (or disallow) campers to have campfires.

And yet, with all the modern tools and knowledge, at least six times as many wildfires each year are started by humans than occur naturally. In 2011, for example, 10,249  wildfires (14%) occurred naturally in the US while 63,877 (86%) were man-made. And the 2010 numbers are even more staggering- 7,164 (10%) naturally occurring fires compared to 64, 807 (90%) man-made ones.

We recently drove through an area burned last summer in the Wallow Fire in the White Mountains of Arizona. A fire started when two cousins didn't ensure their campfire was completely out. A fire started over a year ago.

A fire that became the largest (both in cost and square miles burned) in the history of Arizona. A fire that burned 817 square miles in Arizona and an additional 24 square miles in New Mexico. 

A fire that cost more than 79 million dollars to contain. And 109 million dollars in damages. A fire that left vast areas of a pristine forest looking like a war zone... for at least a decade or two. And it will take about 150 years for old-growth forests (Douglas firs and Ponderosa pines) to be re-established. 

A fire that forced the evacuation of half a dozen small towns, came perilously close to the town of Greer, destroyed 32 homes, 1 cabin, 4 businesses and more than 30 barns, sheds and the like.

A fire started by carelessness. It is true that high winds, record-breaking heat, extremely low humidity and no rain made it grow... and grow. But it started because a campfire wasn't completely extinguished.

Fire season is upon us again. As Smokey the Bear (originally known as Smokey Bear) says...