Caleb Tucker is a sixth grader at Hawthorne Elementary in Boise, Idaho. Here he shares his opinions and research on Idaho wildfires. 

You might think “Wildfires are rare but dangerous”, but that’s incorrect, and I’ll explain why in this article. Okay, about the “rare” part, wildfires are actually becoming more common due to human causes! And wildfires aren’t always dangerous, they can also actually help the environment, but only in proper conditions. This article will explain the effects of wildfires and how we can stop them from getting worse.

Wildfires getting worse in Idaho

 In the west, wildfires are becoming much more common and dangerous. Lots of wildfires are occuring in Idaho, and one occurred near Boise this year. Worse, almost half of the wildfires are caused by humans. Because of this, wildfires are getting more and more expensive each year. However, wildfires shouldn’t be gotten rid of completely, because they also hold benefits to the environment, which I’ll explain next section. Source: Wildfires in the West

Healthy wildfires

Wildfires can benefit ecosystems by helping plant reproduction, clearing out dead matter, and getting rid of invasive species. The way fire helps plant reproduction is by helping pollination and releasing seeds from pine cones. Wildfires get rid of dead or decaying plants which would get in the way of other species getting food. Fires kill invasive species, but native species can survive the wildfire. Understanding the good effects of fire can help us adapt to wildfires and protect our ecosystems. Source: Ecological Benefits of Fire

Why are wildfires getting worse?

While we already know that wildfires are getting worse, we still don’t know why, which I’ll explain in this section. Wildfires need three things to burn, which are heat, oxygen, and fuel. Today, because of things like global warming, wind patterns, and the release of carbon, certain areas are getting hotter, which therefore creates more fires. Since there already is oxygen in the atmosphere, that resource is already plentiful. Dead plants and plants of invasive species can become fuel for fires, and the more of these plants there are, the more fires there will be. These are big problems, but in the next section, we’ll explain how to stop those problems. Source: Wildfires Made Worse, Wildfires: How they form

Preventing wildfire dangers

We already know why the wildfires are getting worse, but in this section and the next, we will be explaining how to stop wildfires. Fire agencies including the NIFC, which works with the BLM and NFS, are trying to stop the wildfire problem. They are creating controlled wildfires but removing the “wild” wildfires, which will allow for fire ecologists to harness the good effects of wildfires and remove the bad effects.

How you can help

In this section, I’m going to explain that even YOU can help to stop wildfire problems. You should only set off safe fireworks, only plant native plants, and kill off plants of invasive species. I’m going to help by planting my first native plant in my backyard. Source: 10 Tips for Preventing Wildfire

Conclusion

We can conclude that wildfires are sparking very negative problems all over the western United States. But even though that’s a big problem, everybody can contribute to stopping wildfires. The question is, will you?