[print-me]Wildland fires don’t just burn the landscape, they burn everything in their path and have multiple areas of impact.

They impact Humans. Not only burning homes, and structures, but burning surrounding trees and landscape that may have been there for 100’s of years, which may likewise take 100’s of years to grow back.

They impact the Weather. They can darken the sky and block the sun while burning. Burn scars; after the live fire strips the landscape of plants, the intense heat usually kills the roots which in turn  allows landslides when the rains come which in turn wipes the landscape bare and impacts everything down hill.
They impact water ways and lakes down stream with silt and debris.
They can create large gullies and ditches which interrupt the normal landscape and the normal watershed. Particulate matter from the live fire seeds clouds that usually take any available moisture far from the fire area before letting it fall.
Live wildland fires also create their own wind and weather which is usually different than that which was normal prior to the fire, then the burn scars in turn can create their own new weather patterns if the scars are big enough, for years to come.

They impact Wildlife and Livestock. Many animals get caught and cornered by wildland fires and die in the blaze bringing devastation to herds of wildlife and livestock. Bees, rabbits, squirrels, mice and all types of slower animals simply can’t out run a wildland fire and perish.

They can impact the electrical power and telephone communication grids by burning down poles which at times spark new hot spots.

They impact Air Quality. This bio-mass burning releases heat, Carbon emissions and particulate matter that affect atmospheric warming and create greenhouse gases and affect air quality. Breathing smoke or even just the particulate matter left in the air from a fire is very harsh on the young, sick, elderly and especially people with cardiovascular and respiratory disease.

They impact Financial Resources. Not discounting the cost of fire to those who have lost homes and structure and livestock, the financial cost of suppressing, rebuilding and restoring after a fire is huge.