Fire suppression makes wildfires more severe and accentuates impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation

This study investigates the impact of fire suppression on wildfire severity, considering the influence of climate change and fuel accumulation. Using a simulation model, the authors demonstrate that fire suppression, by preferentially removing less-extreme wildfires, leads to a "suppression bias" resulting in more severe and less diverse ecological impacts from the remaining fires. The burned area increases at a rate exceeding that predicted by fuel accumulation and climate change alone, highlighting the significant and often overlooked influence of suppression practices on global fire patterns. The study advocates for managing wildfires to allow safe burning under low and moderate conditions to mitigate the growing wildfire crisis.

Mark R. Kreider, Philip E. Higuera, Sean A. Parks, William L. Rice, Nadia White, Andrew J. Larson