The Guardian: We surpassed human limits to stop this': LA megafires show our approach to fire needs to change"We need to shift to a proactive model that accepts fire as part of the landscape and
mitigates risk with fuel management, like prescribed burns, he said. "Instead of fire suppression, [we need] fire management and re-engaging with fire, which makes a great ally," he said...."
"..."What has been a tinder box ready to burn has now burned," Teutimez said. "Unfortunately, it's something that wasn't a surprise, but it is a catastrophe."
"From his perspective, non-Indigenous land management practices helped to set the stage for the destructive fires.
"Before European settlers arrived, there were fires that benefited the ecosystem, and native plants evolved to live with fire. Indigenous people set small fires to care for the landscape, until the practice was outlawed. The fire suppression model that displaced Indigenous practices allows vegetation to build up and create fuel for wildfires....""...The kind of fuel management that is required would cost a lot up front, but lower overall costs over time...."
"...Eyck said that although prescribed burns were happening, they were not happening nearly enough. Sometimes that's because the weather windows when they can take place are brief, because of local opposition, or because regulations and time get in the way. ... "It needs to be expanded, and then the regulatory barriers that are in place need to be addressed to make it easier to get their work done," he said..."
"...Kelly, the IAFF president, said budgets must increase staffing for firefighters and also include more money to manage fuels to mitigate risk. He emphasized that the Los Angeles fires were a wake-up call. "We need to be thinking differently," he said."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/22/los-angeles-wildfires-response