Fires

Could you bring yourself to set your neighboring forest ablaze? Well the government can, and does several times a year. Why, you may ask. Forest fires are in fact, beneficial to the environment, which contradicts traditional views of fire being a danger or risk to everything in its path. The government actually spends several million dollars yearly on setting and containing controlled fires all around the world. These government agencies, such as USDA, have a specific way in which they can proceed in setting the fires in order to make them safe. One may ask, "How can fire, ultimate destruction, be beneficial to the environment? If controlled forest fires are so beneficial, what would be so bad if they did not occur? How do they exactly control a fire?"

The federal government has several agencies that they invest money into in order for them to safely create and control a fire in your area. The agencies that deal with controlled fires must follow a series of regulations in order to carry on with their operation. If even the smallest precaution is not taken the fire can not even be started. This is because they, the companies set up, are checked and double checked for safety before they can proceed with the fire("Smokey Bear").

Many find it hard to believe but, "Fire is one of nature's most essential agents of change"("Smokey Bear"). Early American settlers did not know that forest fires were