Peer-reviewed wildfire science, organized and accessible in one place.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As smoke from wildfires burning across Canada continues to drift into the Midwest and Northeast this week, triggering air quality alerts from Minnesota to New York City and Washington, D.C., the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) recognizes that millions of Americans are once again experiencing the effects of severe wildfire. Severe wildfire results from a complex and compounding set of factors. There is no single cause. As public attention turns to wildfire and forest management, NAFO is offering this resource to provide reliable third-party sources for policymakers, media, and concerned citizens.
Common Misconceptions About Wildfire
Wildfire science can be complicated, and misinformation tends to spread fastest when the smoke is thickest. The following information was not compiled by NAFO, it is drawn from this study which was distributed by the Society of Environmental Journalists as a resource to its members and partners. The paper relies on peer-reviewed research literature. Here are five wildfire misconceptions worth understanding:
Misinformation: Today’s wildfires are just normal, natural events, nothing to be concerned about.
What the science shows: Fire has always been part of many forest ecosystems, but the size and severity of many contemporary wildfires fall well outside the historical range of variation. Roughly a century of fire exclusion has allowed fuels to build up, and a warming, drying climate has made those fuels more flammable, producing fires that burn larger, hotter, and more severely than the fires these landscapes evolved with.
Key evidence: Hessburg et al. 2005, 2019; Falk et al. 2011; Safford and Stevens 2017; Singleton et al. 2019; Parks and Abatzoglou 2020; Hagmann et al. 2021
Misinformation: Forests will naturally recover on their own after a fire; no human intervention is needed.
What the science shows: In many places that’s true, but not everywhere, and not automatically. After high-severity fires, some forests struggle to regenerate because there aren’t enough surviving seed sources nearby, because the local climate has become too hot and dry for tree seedlings to establish, or because repeated fire has pushed a site toward shrubland or grassland instead of forest. Active management, including replanting, can help restore forest cover where natural recovery is no longer reliable.
Key evidence: Hurteau et al. 2014; Stevens-Rumann et al. 2018; Davis et al. 2019; Young et al. 2019; Coop et al. 2020; Prichard et al. 2021; Rammer et al. 2021
Misinformation: Fuel treatments like thinning don’t actually reduce wildfire risk, especially in extreme weather.
What the science shows: A substantial body of research shows that fuel treatments, particularly those that reduce surface and ladder fuels through thinning and prescribed or managed fire, measurably moderate fire behavior. Treated areas tend to see slower fire spread, lower fire intensity, and reduced severity, even under severe fire weather.
Key evidence: Safford et al. 2012; Stephens et al. 2012; Prichard and Kennedy 2014; Lydersen et al. 2017; Hessburg et al. 2019; Prichard et al. 2020, 2021; Jones et al. 2022; North et al. 2021
Misinformation: Fuel reduction work is really just a cover for commercial logging.
What the science shows: Fuel reduction treatments are designed to remove the smaller trees, brush, and ladder fuels that built up during decades of fire exclusion, while retaining the larger, more fire-resistant trees that help a forest survive its next fire. Although some of the removed material may have commercial value, fuel reduction work is guided by wildfire-risk and forest-health objectives, not by maximizing timber production.
Key evidence: Agee and Skinner 2005; Schwilk et al. 2009; Stephens et al. 2009, 2020, 2021; Collins et al. 2014; Prichard et al. 2021; Hessburg et al. 2022
Misinformation: Wildfires are generally good for wildlife, so more fire is always better for habitat.
What the science shows: Some wildlife species benefit from moderate fire, and fire is a natural part of many habitats. But the very large, high-severity burn patches common in today’s megafires can homogenize landscapes and eliminate the mix of forest conditions that many species, including some fire-adapted ones, need to persist. Wildlife conservation depends on landscapes that retain a genuine mosaic of forest and post-fire habitat, not simply on the presence of fire.
Key evidence: White et al. 2019; Kelly et al. 2020; Jones and Tingley 2022; Steel et al. 2022; Stillman et al. 2021
The common thread running through each of these misconceptions is oversimplification. Wildfire behavior, forest recovery, and the effectiveness of management all vary by region, forest type, and conditions on the ground. Broad generalizations, in either direction, tend to mislead more than they inform.
Where to Find Reliable Wildfire and Smoke Safety Information
For real-time, official information on current conditions, NAFO points people to a handful of trusted federal and state sources:
- AirNow.gov is run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, provides real-time smoke maps and air quality alerts by ZIP code.
- Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program is run by the US Forest Service, explains how smoke data is gathered and forecasts are made.
- InciWeb tracks active wildfire incidents and containment status across the country.
- National Weather Service issues smoke and air quality forecasts alongside routine weather guidance.
- Local public health departments and the CDC offer guidance on protecting children, older adults, and people with asthma or heart or lung conditions during smoke events.
- Additionally, Watch Duty, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit offers a free mobile app that alerts its users of nearby fires and flooding in real-time. It can be installed here.
Anyone facing an active wildfire threat to life or property should follow guidance from local emergency management officials and evacuate when directed to do so.
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The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) is a national advocacy organization committed to advancing policies that ensure our working forests provide clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat and jobs through sustainable practices and strong markets. NAFO members include companies, families, and tribes that own and sustainably manage 44 million acres of private working forests – forests that are managed to provide a steady supply of timber. NAFO’s membership also includes state and national associations representing tens of millions of additional acres. Private working forests in the U.S. support 3.9 million jobs. Private working forests – which provide 90% of our timber harvest for wood and fiber – also account for 80% of our total net forest carbon sequestration and approximately half of our forest carbon storage. Learn more at nafo.org.