fire management

people walking through giant sequoia forest

Save the Redwoods League and USDA Forest Service sign stewardship agreement to accelerate giant sequoia emergency action

by Save the Redwoods League on

Save the Redwoods League and the USDA Forest Service have signed a partnership agreement to accelerate stewardship activities in the threatened giant sequoia range. Under this stewardship agreement, the League will lead restoration efforts to reduce the wildfire risk in two giant sequoia groves in partnership with the Forest Service. One of the groves is among the 12 cited in the Forest Service “emergency action” announced in July 2022.

We and our partners used controlled burning to reduce non-native vegetation on a League-protected property.

A Look Inside a Prescribed Fire

by Anthony Castaños and Laura Lalemand on

Save the Redwoods just led a team of researchers and land stewards from all over California to learn about using prescribed fire (controlled burning) on private lands. Take a peek behind the scenes to see how we use fire as a tool to reduce hazardous buildups of combustible vegetation and improve the health of our forests across League properties and the redwood range.

A firefighter protects a park sign and supporting crews contain the fire within a narrow strip under an old growth canopy on the edge of the prairie.

Why is fire used to manage redwood forests?

by Andrew Slack on

Fire is a natural part of the environment and benefits many forests. Prescribed fires have long been used to encourage growth of beneficial and native plant species and reduce the amount of combustible vegetation that could fuel catastrophic wildfires. Thousands of prescribed fires are carried out across the country every year, and they are integral to forest restoration and stewardship.

Fire-suppressed sequoia grove – note the large fire scar on the giant sequoia on the right.

Managing for Fire

by Anthony Castaños on

Through thoughtful stewardship practices, the ways we seek to emulate aspects of the natural state of the forest can also work in conjunction with how we manage forestland into the future.

Panorama of a prescribed fire at Boyes Prairie in Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. The three panels show immediately before, during, and after the fire.

Prescribed Fire and Coast Redwood Prairies

by Andrew Slack on

During a brief burn window in October, crews from California State Parks and the National Park Service diligently worked to restore the natural process of fire to various ecosystems in over 2,800 acres of Redwood National and State Parks.

Laura Lalemand and Lenya Quinn-Davidson on the fire line.

Lighting Up a New Path

by Laura Lalemand on

I had just arrived at the first ever Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (WTREX), and I was one of about 30 participants from around the world who would spend the next ten days learning about, sharing experiences in, and working on controlled burning, with a focus on supporting women in fire management positions.

San Vicente Redwoods prescribed burn. Photo courtesy of Sempervirens Fund

Modern Fire Management and Ancient Land Stewardship Traditions

by Sonia Morris on

After witnessing the many wildfires that occurred over the past summer, it’s hard not to think of them as extremely destructive. However, fires are misunderstood; they play an integral role in the unique ecosystems that California has to offer.

Left, Cape Vizcaino in 1947, with meadows clearly visible. Right, the present view, with trees encroaching heavily.

Burning Cape Vizcaino

by Richard Campbell on

The view from the picnic table was grand to be sure, the blue infinities of sea and sky meeting where the distant fog gathered offshore (and coastal fog, when you think about it, really is the perfect blend of the …

Native American Use of Fire

by Deborah Zierten on

In discussing fire, it is important to think about who managed the forests before us, and how that has influenced what the forests look like today. Many different Native American groups lived throughout the redwood region, each utilizing the natural …

One Way to Manage and Protect a Forest: Burn It

by Jessica Inwood on

Lately we have been thinking a lot about fire. It is fire season in California and sadly huge fires in the west are making headlines with their destructive activity. So, we’ve been discussing ways to decrease these devastating forest fires. …

Fire-suppressed sequoia grove – note the large fire scar on the giant sequoia on the right.

Setting Fire to the Forest

by Richard Campbell on

We’ll do all the law’s allowin’/Tomorrow I’ll be right back plowin’/ settin’ the woods on fire —Hank Williams In a recent post, I discussed the role of natural disturbance in creating the forests we see today. This week, I’d like …

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