Lack of Experience from New England

I was born and raised in New Hampshire, specifically the central region surrounded by lakes, rivers, streams and mountains. Wildland fire has never been a prominent focus in my life simply because we do not experience many fires here at all. Our climate typically keeps things pretty wet, and I rarely see our Smokey the Bear fire danger signs even reach "moderate".

My first interest in wildland fire stemmed from working for the USFS within White Mountain National Forest here in New Hampshire last summer season. Many of my coworkers had been trained in wildland firefighting as it is provided for free by the USFS if you are an employee. I began my training online, learning about the different types of fires and methods to suppress them. I received my sawyer certification which was necessary to move ahead in wildland fire training, but unfortunately missed the cut off date to take the field test. I plan on completing it next summer after returning from a hike on the Long Trail.

While wildland fires have not personally affected my home region, they have affected a place I love, and tend to do so rather frequently. I visit Arizona at least twice a year in order to hike the landscapes that I have fallen in love with over the past 10 years. In a climate as arid as found there, it is no surprise that wildland fires are a very likely possibility. The fire that affected Sedona, Arizona in 2014 is not an isolated event, but did do some rather substantial damage to the area. Given the necessary elements for fire: heat, oxygen and fuel, the slide fire ripped though 21,000 acres before it was able to be put out, and much of Oak Creek Canyon, a huge tourist destination and riparian zone, was up in smoke. However, only about 5,000 acres were deemed affected by moderate to high intensity fire, and even just a few months after the event there were signs of growth around blackened trees.

 

(Source: http://hikearizona.com/dex2/viewtopic.php?t=8298&start=20)

 

(Source: http://myprostand.com/sedona-az/forest-fire-sedona-az/) 

(Source: http://myprostand.com/sedona-az/forest-fire-sedona-az/)

While wildland fires may not shape or influence my current living situation, I do plan to live out west some day, and I know my knowledge of them will help not only in my career path but also in my preparation and actions when and if they occur near my future place of living. Understanding both the negative and positive impacts of wildland fires will help me find a balance and hopefully steer away from the fear that is associated with fires in this country. It's important to remember many Native Americans used fire as a way to treat the land, and some growth is not possible without it.