Scientists discovered one type of treatment is key to forest resiliency: prescribed burns. They also said forest managers can harness wildfire to do the work of prescribed burns for them.
Researchers are looking closely at the Schneider Springs fire, the largest wildfire in Washington in 2021.The Schneider Springs fire provided examples of the benefits of prescribed burns and other fire treatments.
After a hot, dry summer in 2021, the forest just outside Naches, in central Washington, northwest of Yakima, was parched, ready to burn, and waiting for a spark. That’s when a dry lightning storm swept through the area. Lightning bolts struck with alarming speed and little water to squelch any potential flames. Strikes deep in the William O. Douglas Wilderness lit a fire in dangerous, steep terrain, too precarious for a firefighting force already stretched thin by other fires across the country.