The rains came at last and probably most across Western North Carolina breathed a collective sigh of relief. The fires will be extinguished. The woods will be safe. But safe from what? Safe for whom?

There is presently a burning debate regarding the role of wildfire throughout the ecosystems of the planet. Simply put, fire has two origins — natural and human. Lightning is by far the most prevalent ignitor of natural fire. Hot lava can start fires and a minute percentage of naturally caused fires are the result of friction and/or biological activity.

Human caused fires probably make up 90 percent of all wildfires in the East. Human caused fires fall into two categories — intentional and accidental. Accidental fires account for most human caused fires and the sources are myriad; burning leaves, camp fires, cigarette butts, electrical, mechanical, etc. Intentional fires are either arson or prescribed burns.

In an almost surreal paradigm of paradoxes, fire is good and evil; useful and destructive; worshipped and loathed; nurtured and suppressed. And the progenitor and destroyer, the proponent and opponent of fire is one: man.

From a historical, environmental perspective fire was as much a part of the ecosystem as wind, rain, ice and floods. But from an anthropological perspective it was a force that could be harnessed.

Without a doubt, fire was the most influential tool co-opted by primitive homo sapiens. It pierced the darkness and provided warmth. It would become the catalyst for transforming tool making and diets, creating sedentary rather than nomadic civilizations and eventually sparking the industrial revolution.

Natural fire co-evolved with the planet; anthropogenic fire co-evolved with humans. Fire has forever been a part of the landscape. Some environments and specific plant and animal communities require fire for their existence. This is particularly true of the western U.S. and the southern and Atlantic coastal zones where lightning fires are common.

But even in the Appalachians, there are fire dependent species. Table Mountain pine, a species endemic to the southern and central Appalachians, requires fire to open their cones and disperse seeds. Many believe the oak and (formerly) chestnut forests on the drier southern slopes and ridges throughout the Appalachians were maintained through fire.

The federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker resides in open pine forests, free from brushy undergrowth. Plants like goldenseal, purple fringeless orchid, Indian grass and whiteleaf sunflower all benefit from wildfire.

Microscopic pollen grain and charcoal samples from bogs across the Appalachians point to fire as a common occurrence.

According to some researchers, it is too common to be solely caused by nature. The proposed theory is high precipitation (50 inches or more) across the region and the fact that most lightning strikes would be associated with this rainfall and occur in summer months when moisture was high and fuel load low point to a high incidence of anthropogenic fire.

The use of fire by Native Americans in the Appalachians is well documented by early European explorers. By the time whites made their way along the Little Tennessee, the Tuckasegee and other waterways they found established Indian villages that used fire in many fashions — to create agricultural land, to enhance harvest of natural foods such as acorns and chestnuts, to make travel easier and to protect villages from natural-caused wildfire.

When Europeans first arrived, their lust for property and resources led to the zealous and rampant use of fire to establish homesteads, create croplands and promote slash and burn forestry. Then, just as quickly, on the heels of this pyro-age came fire suppression.

With homesteads established, villages built and emerging societal order, protection of personal and community property and identity became paramount. Wildfire was now a threat to civilized existence.

And this spread of civilization shows no sign of abating. More and more wildlands are lost to development and private homes and entire cities snuggle close, within a fire’s breath, to national parks and forests.

Managers of these wildlands face many dilemmas. When is fire good? When is it dangerous? How much is enough? Where and when to let fires burn  where and when to suppress?

These are the questions sparking the national wildfire debate. They are important questions. Presently there are many more questions than answers and the issues often parody wildfire with hotspots (what about smoke pollution?) flareups (salvage timbering) and breakouts (what is the history of wildfire — what is the ecology of wildfire?)

Perhaps the recent Sharp Fire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will help shed some light. It should be noted that the Sharp Fire is believed to be arson. The Park Service has offered a $5,000 dollar reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Hopefully the perpetrator(s) will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Arson is a sick crime and has nothing to do with thoughtful deliberations regarding wildfire.

But the Sharp Fire may be able to teach us some things. The largest fire in park history (more than 7,000 acres) was ignited under tinder box conditions, yet according to GSMNP fire ecologist Bob Dellinger, “Most of the forest had minimal resource damage. There were a few areas that burned fairly intense, so there will be small, isolated areas with significant mortality to the trees. In most cases it will probably help restore the oak forests to a more natural state.”

Further research by Dellinger and park botanists will document the recovery of the area and provide more information on the long term effects of the Sharp Fire. This data could help park fire managers and other land managers across the country assess the pros and cons of wildfire and aid in coming to grips with the role of fire in our wildlands.

(Don Hendershot can be reached at don@smokymountainnews.com)

 

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