Fight fire with fire: controlled burns stem California blazes
3 years ago(FILES) Ian Cook, a volunteer with the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association, monitors a prescribed burn at Wilder Ranch State Park near Santa Cruz, California, on October 13, 2023. - In a forest in northern California, a line of people spread out through the trees, setting fire to shrubs and fallen branches in an act of intentional arson aimed at making the woodland better able to cope with future conflagrations. The operation near Santa Cruz is part of a growing number of prescribed burns intended to reduce the amount of fuel that can feed natural wildfires in an era when human-caused climate change is increasing the likelihood of devastating blazes. (Photo by Nic Coury / AFP)
In a forest in northern California, a line of people spread out through the trees, setting fire to shrubs and fallen branches in an act of intentional arson aimed at making the woodland better able to cope with future conflagrations.