Wildfire Reinforces the Need to “Fight Fire with Fire”
Prescribed fire can be used to slow the spread and decrease the intensity of wildfires that are plaguing the western half of our country. Prescribed fire uses strategic and controlled burns under conditions approved and monitored by firefighting professionals to manage landscapes and support habitat diversity. This method also removes excess vegetation from forest floors that serve as kindling in dangerous, fast-moving wildfires. Local affiliates of The Moore Charitable Foundation in New Mexico—The Taos Ski Valley Foundation (TSVF)—and in North Carolina—the Orton Foundation—maintain 14,000 acres of forestland using prescribed burning and thinning practices and support projects that enhance almost 78,000 acres of the longleaf pine ecosystem.