The evolution of wildfire suppression

Editor's Note: As the West enters another fire season, where, how and why federal land management agencies decide to suppress wildfires and implement fuel reduction projects will be hotly debated as residents, environmentalists, agency heads and politicians tangle with how much, if any, thinning, logging and prescribed burning is appropriate to mitigate fire risk.

Three trends play an important role in the discussion: hotter and drier conditions wrought by climate change, which have led to an extended burning season and a spike in fires deemed "historically significant " by the Federal Emergen...