American Fires: The Birth and Evolution of United States Fire Management Programs

The purpose of this section of the class is to follow the story of how wildland fire management evolved in the United States from pre-colonial times to present days. We will follow the major events in wildland fire management and discuss how they shaped policy and practices. The lectures and readings in this section, will enable the student to achieve the following learning objectives:

• Know how fire use has changed in the United States form pre-colonial to present

• Understand how wildland fire management changed in response to the 1910 Firestorm

• Know how the federal land management agencies have evolved and understand the role of fire in that evolution process

• Understand the evolution of both research and safety concerns within United States wildland fire management  

• Understand the evolution of seeing fire as a menace to be suppressed to a necessary component of many ecosystems

• Know the origins of the Federal Fire Policy and the National Fire Plan

• Understand the concept of Cohesive Strategy  

• Understand the fundamentals of fire economics

Lectures:

• Week 6 - Native American Fire Management [PM] (PDF)

• Week 6 - 1970 Wildfire! (v) (60 minutes: no PDF)

• Week 7 - United States Fires: 1871-1934 (PDF)

• Week 7 - The Greatest Good (DVD: Part II) (30 minutes: no PDF)                           [2013: + Smokejumpers]

• Week 8 - United States Fires: 1935-1949 (PDF)

• Week 8 - Importance of Fire Safety [HH] (PDF)

• Week 9 - United States Fires: 1950-1990 (PDF)

• Week 9 - 1988 Yellowstone Fire + 20 Years Later (DVD) (60 minutes: no PDF)

• Week 10 - United States Fires: 1991-2011 (PDF)

• Week 10 - History in Summary Video, 1984 (DVD) (60 minutes: no PDF)

• Week 11 - Structure of Fire Management in the United States (PDF)

• Week 11 - Quiz: Section 2 Lectures and Readings

  • Fire in the Forest (v) (22 minutes: no PDF) "Fire Propoganda"

Assignments and Blackboard Discussions:

• Week 6 Discussion: Cultural Fire Use [Blackboard]
• Week 7 Discussion: Impacts of the Firestorm [Blackboard]
• Week 8 Discussion: The Importance of Fire Safety [Blackboard]
• Week 9 Discussion: Impacts of Ecological Fire [Blackboard]
• Week 10 Discussion: Options for Managing Public Lands [Blackboard]
• Week 11 Discussion: A Common System for Managing Fire [Blackboard]

Required Readings:

• Week 6 Reading: Pyne (1997a), Chapter 2.1 Our Grandfather Fire: Fire and the American Indian, pp 71-83 AND Pyne (2001), Chapter 3. Aboriginal Fire: Controlling the Spark, pp 46-64

• Week 7 Reading: Pyne (1997a), Chapter 4.2 Sky of Brass, Earth of Ash: A Fire History of the Lake States, pp 199-218 AND Week 6: Pyne (1997a), Chapter 5.1 1910: A Fire History of the Northern Rockies, pp 242-259

• Week 8 Reading: Pyne (1997a), Chapter 5.2 The Forester's policy: A History of Fire policy in the U.S. Forest Service, pp 260-294

• Week 9 Reading: Pyne (1997a), Chapter 5.3 A Moral and Legal Charge: A History of Fire Policy in the Department of Interior and Interagency Organizations

• Week 10 Reading: The Hubbard Report (PDF) & Cohesive Strategy (PDF)

• Week 11 Reading: Pyne (2001), Chapter 6. Urban Fire: Building Habitats for Fire, pp 102-118