Rebalancing for wildfire resilience has become a top priority. In the last few years in California and the western USA, wildfires have increased exponentially. They threaten lives, property, and the basic feeling of being safe in one’s home and community.
For the last century, US forest management embraced a “no fires” philosophy. This allowed fuel loads to increase to dangerous levels. Coupled with drought, and more intense weather due to climate change, we are severely out of balance as a region.
There Are Ways
Luckily, the Native people who lived in this region for thousands of years know how to manage the land for balance, to decrease the risk and severity of wildfires. First responders and some government agencies now are starting to listen to understand these “new” (old!) ways of managing the land. Amy was learned about this in an online course in spring 2020, Farmers Build Wildfire Resilience.
We came out of the course with an action plan. We are decreasing the risk of having a wildfire on the farm, and if a fire comes, building in ways to experience the least damage.
Some action examples include:
- Trimming trees and brush near the house
- Increasing defensible space around buildings
- Installing smaller-mesh screens on building vents
- Creating an evacuation plan for livestock
- Reviewing and updating insurance
- Building inventories for insurance
- Keeping vegetation near buildings moist in critical fire times
- Grazing
Grazing Rebalancing for Wildfire Resilience
You can see in the 2018 picture below of John Bailey from the University of California Hopland Research & Extension Center how valuable grazing can be as a wildfire suppression tool. On the left is an area that had been part of a grazing rotation. On the right is an area that had not been in grazing rotation. The grazed area had much more resilience to wildfire! Watch John explain it on Facebook in this video.
How exciting that our beloved sheep and goats and guardian dogs not only bring us joy every day, and help with climate change and improving the health of the land; they are also valued workers in rebalancing for wildfire resilience! How good is that!