June 5, 2026
As summer begins and temperatures rise, the threat of catastrophic wildfire looms large in the minds of Westerners. As fire seasons expand and the summers get hotter and drier, it’s clear that Western wildfire is anything but simple. That’s why we’re unpacking common myths about wildfire and the best tools to limit risk – hint, it’s smart state–level policy.
The TLDR:
- Wildfire is a natural part of Western ecosystems, but climate change and mismanagement of forests has led to more dangerous fires over time.
- Climate change worsens the conditions that make fires bigger and more dangerous to land and communities.
- There are many tools that limit risk from fires, like prescribed burns, forest thinning, home hardening, and defensible space. These tools can lower the risk of catastrophic wildfires and help protect homes and businesses.
- The West is facing mounting threats from wildfire but doesn’t yet spend enough to keep communities and habitats safe. More funding is needed to adequately protect the West.
Myth: All Western wildfires are bad and should be put out immediately.
Fact: Natural wildfire is, and has always been, an important part of Western ecosystems and landscapes.
Fires can clear out overgrown underbrush, improve soil health, and allow for new species of plants to thrive. Without fires, our forests would be nearly impassable, less ecologically diverse, and less resilient against a changing climate.
Indigenous people have used cultural burns for thousands of years to restore the land. But a destructive 1910 fire painted this natural occurrence as an enemy, rather than a tool. As a result, a century of mismanagement and suppression led to fires being stamped out before they could deliver key benefits to ecosystems.
Overgrown forests paired with hot and dry conditions made worse by climate change result in modern fires that burn hotter, bigger, and faster than they once did. In dense mismanaged forests, fires move from the ground up into the tree canopy more easily, which allows them to travel faster and become more destructive.
And fires that wipe out whole forests make them more susceptible to the next big blaze because the trees and plants returning to the landscape are the same age, less diverse, and not as resilient.
These disasters are called catastrophic wildfires and pose significant risk to our communities and environments. We need modern management practices — and enough funding to support them — to limit risk once fires start and allow healthy fire back onto the landscape.
Watch: WRA’s Wildfire Expert Debunks Myths About Western Wildfire
Myth: Climate change causes wildfires.
Fact: Climate change does not directly “cause” wildfires, but it does worsen the conditions that make fires destructive and dangerous.
Fires have always been a part of Western ecosystems, but the impacts of climate change, like reduced snowpack from drought, and warm winters that bleed into hot summers paired with abnormally dry falls, lay the groundwork for frequent bad fire years. Coupled with mismanaged forests, that means these natural disasters are burning hotter and longer.
Due to climate change, severe wildfire has increased eightfold in 30 years and parts of the Interior West are seeing 2,000 more hours of wildfire-prone weather per year.
And Western states have frequently seen catastrophic wildfires start outside of summer, which was once considered “fire season.” Two of Colorado’s largest and most destructive wildfires, the East Troublesome Fire and the Cameron Peak Fire, occurred in the fall of 2020. The Marshall Fire ignited on Dec. 30, 2021.
With 100% of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming currently in drought, 2026 is likely to be a challenging year for wildfire around the West.
Myth: The only thing we can do about fires is hope people don’t start them, then try to put them out quickly.
Fact: It is crucial that recreationists follow fire restrictions and best practices, and the wise words of Smokey Bear, to prevent fires from starting.
But this thinking at a land management scale has painted natural wildfire as the “bad guy” and the result is decades of unhealthy fire suppression.
Land managers and policy makers have many more tools at their disposal to proactively limit risk from catastrophic wildfire by restoring forest health and acting quickly once dangerous fires do start. Some of these tools include:
Prescribed Fire
Prescribed Fire
Prescribed fire is a tool used by trained professionals, called burn bosses, to intentionally ignite fires. These managed fires burn lower and slower than catastrophic wildfires and can be set in areas vulnerable to catastrophic fire. Prescribed burns mimic smaller historical fires, refresh the landscape, and clear out too-dense forests. They lower the probability of catastrophic fires by 60% in Western forests where fire was once a normal part of the landscape.
Forest Thinning
Forest Thinning
Land managers use forest thinning as a key tool to keep the environment healthy and reduce fire risk. Specific trees are removed in high-risk areas to restore natural forest conditions, which include a mix of tree sizes, ages, and native species. Thinning reduces risk of disease and insect infestation, and when paired with prescribed fire can reduce fire severity by 72%.
Home Hardening
Home Hardening
Home hardening is used to protect homes from burning by replacing flammable materials, like a wooden fence or deck, with materials less likely to catch fire. Home hardening cannot limit the likelihood of severe wildfires but it is a critical tool in protecting communities and homes when a wildfire reaches them.
Defensible Space
Defensible Space
Defensible space is used to create fire buffer zones around homes and businesses. This can mean removing or not planting flammable trees and bushes near a structure and clearing out dry material, making the area less likely to ignite if embers land nearby.
The best wildfire strategy involves using each of these tools when appropriate, and others, to lower the risk of wildfires running rampant, and to protect the land and our communities if they do.
We need land managers to be able to use science-backed tools where and when they’re needed most.
Myth: Prescribed fire is reckless and will cause the next big wildfire.
Fact: Prescribed burns are a common and safe tactic to limit the risk of bigger, more dangerous fires.
This tool allows qualified burn bosses to determine when, where, and under what conditions they want to use fire to refresh a landscape. Prescribed fires are set only under strict weather and moisture conditions, and consider factors like topography, wind, and smoke so they can be properly managed. The U.S. Forest Service completes more than 99% of prescribed fires without issues.
But concern for liability if a prescribed burn causes damage outside of the planned area can stop burn bosses from using this tool as often as needed to truly prevent catastrophic wildfires. To fix that, WRA helped steward Colorado legislation in 2024 to create a Prescribed Fire Liability Claims Fund — a backstop to help burn bosses feel more confident when carrying out this critical work.
We did this because we know that our strongest defense against catastrophic wildfire is smart policy paired with sustained funding.
Myth: Prescribed fire releases dangerous air pollutants.
Fact: While all fire releases some particulate matter, ozone, and other air pollutants, catastrophic fire is significantly worse for air quality and human health. When big catastrophic fires reach communities, like the Marshall Fire in Colorado or the Palisades Fire in California, they chew through all human-made materials in their path and release toxic air pollutants that can linger for weeks. High-intensity fires have been shown to convert natural soil elements into carcinogens, which can be emitted in smoke and linger in our groundwater at unsafe levels for up to two years.
Prescribed fire is an important tool to avoid these hazardous effects.
Prescribed burns produce only 17% of the fine particulate matter compared to larger wildfires in the same area and reduce emissions from future fires by 34%.
Another study found that prescribed fires led to lower smoke exposure when managed well. Prescribed fire operations are also equipped with real-time smoke sensors and will shut down operations if smoke reaches a certain threshold.
These planned fires allow land managers time to inform nearby communities, and they burn for a shorter time compared to catastrophic wildfires that ignite suddenly and rage for weeks or months.
Myth: Forest thinning is just logging in disguise.
Fact: Forest thinning is not logging.
Forest thinning happens before wildfire starts, and prioritizes science-based removal of trees, particularly small ones located in overly dense areas. Unlike logging, it’s an operation that usually costs money rather than making it.
Thinning, followed by prescribed fire, preserves landscape and ecosystem health for the wildlife, insects, and plants that call forests home. In helping to prevent the next big fire, it also reduces fire risk for homes and businesses.
Some have raised concerns that thinning gets rid of a key way to remove greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere, since trees act as “carbon sinks” and store climate-warming carbon. But thinning only occurs in forests at high risk of being decimated entirely by catastrophic wildfire — a much worse outcome for removing heat-trapping gasses — and leaves larger trees that act as bigger carbon sinks.
Thinning, especially when paired with prescribed fire, can also help reduce the impacts of catastrophic wildfires on Western rivers and clean water. By reducing fire severity, thinning prevents the soil erosion that sends soot and debris downstream into clean drinking water supplies. Some recent studies suggest that forest thinning can also help retain more snow in watersheds by creating gaps in the forest canopy that allow more snow to accumulate on the forest floor. This boosts water storage that Western communities and ecosystems rely on.
Thinning removes small trees, chosen in carefully selected areas, to save an entire ecosystem that will endure for centuries when managed well.
Myth: The West already spends enough to prevent wildfires.
Fact: Catastrophic wildfire is a growing threat for states across the West.
This year, Colorado alone is expecting to see 8,000-9,000 wildfires due to drought and abnormal heat. While some of those fires might be small and beneficial, others will pose real risks to Colorado’s environment and communities.
In April, AccuWeather calculated that the states with the broadest and most persistent wildfire risk are expected to be Arizona and New Mexico, and the most affected areas include Utah, Nevada, and western Montana.
In 2025, the federal government made significant cuts to firefighting capacity, leaving millions of acres untreated and unprepared for fires. With the federal government unable and unwilling to keep us safe, it is up to each state to step up or risk a dangerous fire season in 2026 and beyond.
An Opportunity in Colorado to Address Catastrophic Fire: Proposition 137
While many states are working to address the growing threats of catastrophic wildfire, the challenge is in how to fund this necessary work.
In Colorado, the State Forester estimates the state needs $200 million every year to invest in land management tools that restore forest health, limit the risks of catastrophic fires, and protect communities. That’s one of the main reasons why WRA and WRA Action Fund, our sister organization, are working to get Proposition 137 on the ballot this year to protect the Colorado we love by working to close this funding gap.
Without raising taxes, the measure would generate around $175 million every year by directing the sales tax that the state already collects on outdoor sporting goods toward wildfire mitigation and land and water conservation. It doesn’t raise the cost of goods or equipment or increase taxes. Instead, it provides a sustainable source of funding to protect what makes living in Colorado special – thriving communities protected from catastrophic fires, healthy public lands and waters, and accessible recreation.
We’re advancing innovative solutions to mitigate fire risk using the best available science to protect our communities. But we can’t do this work without you. Will you give today to support healthy forests, thriving ecosystems, and protected communities?
