1. Until now, I have always thought of wildfires as something that only negatively affected the things it touches. I understand now that in many ways wildfires were an areas way of "spring cleaning" if you will. I was unaware that many environments produced natural "defenses" that enabled them to thrive off the effect of these fires. In the article, Fighting Fire with Fire, I learned that in the area of Montana that the article used as an example. the species of trees native to the area were naturally more "fire resistant" than the ones that occupy many of the space now that humans have stopped fires completely in the area. Although I still think I consider myself an "alarmist" I now see both sides of the coin. On one side, wildfires have proven to be beneficial and before human involvement, even burned differently and in "patches" which creates a diverse environment. I have to say though, "alarmist's" have a good point in being worried when it comes to environments that are not maintained and highly overgrown because these are the places that are most likely to produce an unstoppable fire.
2. Ecologist, Ryan Haugo, views wildfires as "inevitable and the ultimate contradiction". He believes that fire is a crucial part of our western forests and supports prescribed fire that "benefits people and nature" while working to eliminate "uncharacteristic fires" (another way of saying destructive fires).
3. After reading about the Giant Sequoias and the fire in Yosemite I learned a few new things:
- Giant sequoia's are a fire dependent species and are well adapted to handle burns
- The bark of Giant Sequoia's can grow up to two feet thick which helps insulate them from the fire
-The fire helps eliminate competing plants and provides great fertilizer in the form of ash.
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