The Tonto National Forest is part of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative where the Forest Service is targeting investments to reduce wildfire risk across multiple “Wildfire Crisis Strategy” landscapes. This partnership has already treated hundreds of thousands of acres in central Arizona, setting fire managers up to capitalize on opportunities with naturally caused wildfires.
Western forests are designed to burn. For the one-third of the U.S. population that lives in high wildfire risk areas, this means if we continue to deprive forests of fire it only makes the next fire bigger and more difficult to control. But with the right preparation and conditions, wildfires sparked by lightning can be managed the way nature intended...
