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Wildfires are currently raging through California, with thousands of people forced to flee their homes and dozens of residents killed. Earlier this year, a series of wildfires in the Greek coast killed 99 people in the deadliest wildfire worldwide since 2009. In July 2018, smoke from fires in Russia reached as far as North America. This is a new normal.
But do you want to multiply around the world, so do questions about them – and misconceptions. Here are five common myths about wildfires – some of which can undermine our success in fighting them.
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Myth # 1: Regularly logging with wildfires
A common assumption is that logging, or removing some trees, would prevent fires. In fact, many forest experts say that logging is ineffective. This is because the tree remnants left over after logging, such as stumps and branches, provide a super-fuel for fire – one that is even drier (and more flammable) in the absence of a forest canopy.
There is plenty of science backing these claims. For instance, a recent study has shown that it is more likely to be higher in areas with higher levels of management. Scholars working on wildfire conservation have also rebuked arguments that logging protects endangered species from forest fires, a common argument in favor of tree removal; In fact, it seems that animals like the iconic spotted owl still benefit from a burned-out forest and that removing the trees could hurt them. Even post-fire logging is counterproductive and can lead to more fires.
A different practice is clearing all areas of a forest, a common approach used by firefighters to prevent the fire from spreading.
Myth # 2: There is nothing you can do to protect your property
Wildfires are powerful and threatening, but they can reduce their risk by taking action at home. The building itself should be the first concern. Houses with fire-resistant roofs stand a better chance of surviving a blaze. Owners also should remove fuel materials from around the structure, including leaves in gutters and rooflines.
Families can create a 'defensible zone' between their homes and their surrounding wilderness. This means clearing everything that could catch fire, like brush, dried leaves and wood stacks within 30 feet (9m) of structures. When they are 30-100 feet (9-30m) away from homes, trees should have wide distances between canopies – 12 feet (3.6m) from space between 30-60ft (9-18m) from a home, and 6 feet (1.8m) of space for that are 60 feet (18m) away. This interrupts the fire's path and slows its pace.
Myth # 3: Forest fires are an inevitable fact of nature
While wildfires are a natural phenomenon, the extent and intensity to which they are happening is not one of the effects of climate change.
We saw fewer fires between 1930 and 1980, a period that coincided with cooler and moister conditions. But the climate has become hotter and the last few decades, the number of fires have increased. In just two years between 1980 and 1999 it was more than 6 million acres (2.4m hectares) of US wilderness. But between 2000 and 2017, there were 10 years with burnt acreage above that threshold.
Globally, the length of the wildfire season increased by nearly 19% between 1978 and 2013.
While you can not do it, it does not help you, but it does not help you. As a result, scientists say that the increase of wildfires around the world, from Siberia to Portugal, is linked to climate change.
Myth # 4: All wildfires are bad and must be quenched immediately
Forest fires have played a crucial role in ecosystems for millennia and life has evolved from them: some beetles breed only in the heat of fires, pine cones germinate with periodical fires and cleared space from burnt trees for new plants to spring.
In fact, the benefits that many people make to achieve with logging or forest management – the clearing of dense woods – is naturally done by forest fires. The flames periodically consumes smaller branches and trees, culling the forest.
By fighting wildfires relentlessly during the past century, we have prevented this 'cleansing': less than 1% of US fires are allowed to burn. This strategy works better than ever before – but in your current conditions, it is possible to reduce the rate of returns.
Myth # 5: It is possible to eradicate (or control) all forest fires
As we have already seen, we are already in the process of developing these conditions, we are expected to increase wildfires, particularly in mid-to-high latitudes, in the coming decades. The tropics might see a decrease in fires, which might be a relief for countries near the equator. But the rest of the globe would have to deal with an increasing number of them.
Some fires, like California Fire Camp, are too fast to be managed. Evacuation and relocation are the only reasonable responses. This leads to the question of whether communities like Paradise, which was destroyed by the fire, should stay where they are – or move elsewhere.
Some experts are calling for a return to traditional indigenous fire knowledge to deal with the flames. As efforts to cull fires seem to be insufficient – and they are likely to get worse – those are must-face policymakers issues.
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Diego Arguedas Ortiz is a science and climate change reporter for BBC Future. He is @arguedasortiz on Twitter.
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