Wildfire –
Wildfire is a constant fear in ranch country. Many times it is started by accident, like a cigarette butt thrown out the window of a car. The huge grass fires that you hear about on the news are generally accidental. They can burn through thousands of acres of land, and can burn down houses and buildings too. These fires are very hard to put out.
Controlled burns are wildfires set on purpose. They are used as a natural tool to get rid of dead vegetation and to give way for the new. Many ranches and public lands are burned every year to kill invading plant species and to control brush, which promotes native plants and wildlife.
Wildfires are a natural part of the environment when they are started by lightning. They may be devastating, but they are a designed element in the environment that almost always helps the land. Fire burns away the old, so that it can be replaced by new life.
