Fire lab scientist says we’re still not doing enough to prevent massive wildfires: “We’re definitely part of the problem”

Tucked beneath snow-capped mountains in Montana, the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory is unlike any other lab in the country.  It’s where scientists are starting fires to better understand how they burn — and how to manage them.

The U.S. Forest Service built the fire sciences lab in 1960, inspired by a forest fire that killed 13 firefighters. The facility includes a 66-foot-high combustion chamber that allows for intense burn tests in controlled conditions. Today, about 80 employees are carrying on that mission of wildfire research, and keep coming back to one controlling principle.

“We’re definitely part of the problem,” said fire scientist and lab leader Mark Finney.

Finney believes we still don’t implement some of the basics that could limit the flames, like clearing away dead and dry vegetation with more prescribed burns — including near urban areas. In his view, some smaller wildland fires should also be left to burn to eliminate fuels that would feed larger fires.

“The harder we fight fire, the harder we try to remove fire, the more the fuels build up in a given location…we’ve actually created conditions that make those fires worse,” Finney said.

The fire lab allows the uncontrollable to be controlled and studied. Finney took CBS News to a silo where his team assembled dry logs and lit them on fire to simulate wind-fueled flames on the forest floor.

What they’re learning in the lab has never been more important, following a slew of massive wildfires — including ones that recently destroyed thousands of homes in the Los Angeles area.

The California governor’s office called the fires “unprecedented,” but Finney disagrees.

“It’s the same fire events over and over again. And yet, decades go by and those lessons and those impacts are often forgotten,” Finney said.

He hopes what the team learns from studying the flames can change the way we approach wildfires.

When asked how to convince a community that lighting a fire near their homes is a good idea, Finney said, “The question is, what risks do you want? To experience the very low risk of having problems with prescribed burning, or do you want to basically roll the dice and just wait until circumstances overwhelm emergency response?”

He continued, “We’ve proven that we can’t eliminate fire. The only choices we really have are when to have it and what kind to have.”

That will require a change in perspective — looking at fire as an ally, not an enemy.

Carter Evans

Carter Evans has served as a Los Angeles-based correspondent for CBS News since February 2013, reporting across all of the network’s platforms. He joined CBS News with nearly 20 years of journalism experience, covering major national and international stories.