Role of Fire

Fire has been humankind's companion since prehistoric time. It enabled early peoples to travel from the temperate regions, where they evolved, into the colder regions of the mid and upper latitudes.

GA: Brannan World map showing general patterns of human migration

Fire has long served as both a useful tool for civilization and an object of fear when out of control.

Photograph of Moran Fire [Marianne did the graphic]

Fires drastically alter the landscape, bringing unwanted destruction as well as ecological renewal.

Photo of Mesa Verde dried trees

In many parts of the world, fire is used to clear land for agriculture and other purposes.

The fireweed (a member of the primrose family) in the foreground of this photo, taken in Glacier National Park, Montana, is usually the first plant to grow in a burned area. Three years after a wildfire destroyed them, the burned trees remain standing because of unusually mild winters. [Marianne did the graphic]

Fires occur everywhere - in forested, rural, and urban regions, at high latitudes, and in the tropics.

MODIS Rapid Response System Global Fire Map