Every now and then, we take a look at the blog archives to understand the trends and patterns that might pop up over 10+ years of publishing practitioner stories each week. We noticed a fair amount of blog posts over the past two years or so that have something to do with imagining future scenarios with fire. It’s no surprise that authors take this on as an idea – creating visions for how we want things to look next is an age-old exercise.
In the Fire Networks partnership (Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network, Fire Learning Network, Indigenous Peoples Burning Network, and Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges) imagining our future with fire is a common creative undertaking. We’re currently developing theories and ideas of what a “viable fire culture” is and how defining it might help us improve outcomes for generations to come. Stay tuned for more ideas on that.
In the meantime, try your own exercise in “futuring” fire by reading a few of these selected posts below. Ideas within them range from how to learn from past fire lessons, to inspirational calls-to-action, to imaginative theoretical scenarios. What’s your future vision for our relationship with fire? Share it in the comments, or write your own blog!
A Future with Fire: Desiring Tuesday on this Very Long Monday
Choosing a Fire Future: Lessons from Southwest Colorado
Pyro Futures: Imagining Our Evolving Relationship with Fire
Our Responsibility to the Future
A Pessimist’s Guide to Functional Hope
Changing the Game: Using Potential Wildfire Operational Delineation (PODs) for a Better Future with Fire
Bringing Fire Home: Private Woodland Owner Perspective on the Future of Fire
Discussing the Future of Ponderosa Pine and the Timber Economy in Southwest Colorado
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I was surprised to find my post, Pondo pine and the timber economy in SW CO, from 2016 among the Futuring Fire blog, but I’m really glad it was included. There has been so much valiant effort to bring more good fire back, but the Rx, cultural burning, and indirect response tactics often get siloed in conversations. I don’t believe we can be successful in healing our relationship with fire without a vibrant timber/ biomass/ carbon economy to aid landscapes in their readiness to receive fire. If I was writing on imaging our fire future now, I have to add that I’m consistently a voice in fire use conversations who is pushing for an approach to burning that is more inclusive of communities and that helps them be not only ready to use fire, but ready to receive fire as well. And one of my favorite quotes from 2023- “If you’re not ready for a prescribed fire, then you’re not ready for a wildfire.”… I’m still looking for the original source on this, so if you know, please share!