Science and practice clearly have demonstrated that methods of forest fuel treatments such as thinning forest stands, combined with prescribed and managed fires, reduce wildfire intensity and rate of spread. Thinning forest stands can reduce intensity and rate of spread by reducing understory brush and saplings that create “ladder fuels,” which facilitate the spread of fires from the forest floor up into the forest canopy. Thinning thus makes fires easier for firefighters to contain and can be especially effective when combined with prescribed burns to further reduce the fuel load.
However, the extent of forest management needs is substantial. According to modeling by the US Forest Service, fuel treatments are needed on approximately 51 million acres of federal, state, tribal, and private lands. At an average cost of $1,000 per acre (based on US Forest Service data), treating 51 million acres would cost $5 billion–$6 billion per year over ten years. Even the significant boost in wildfire mitigation spending provided by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act does not approach the amount of funding that’s necessary to make a dent in forest management: the bill provides a total of $3.3 billion in funding for wildfire management, and that funding is spread over several years.
Where risks to life, property, and natural resources are low, wildfires can be approached opportunistically to accomplish fuel reduction at relatively low cost. This concept is at the heart of the new 10-year strategy developed by the US Forest Service, a plan known as “Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America’s Forests.”