Welcome everybody to Midday Magazine for this Thursday January 16th, 2025.
Have your host James J. M. A. Love here and we're joined by our great friend Anna James Mitchell,
Natural Resource Educator with UW-Madison Extension.
Anna, good to have you.
That's good to be here James.
Thanks so much for the time.
Appreciate it.
Hope you and yours had a great set of holidays, a good New Year's.
All the above.
Wish you a happy New Year's to all of our friends at Extension.
Please pass that on.
I will.
We're going to get right into it and we're talking wildfires, wildfire information and awareness.
Timely and perfect topic for us and especially to dive into where we hear this term or we hear about
these things a lot and I think one of the fears for me about this and I will admit I have some
stake in the game I lived out in California, I have a lot of family and friends out that way.
I worry that we get a little tone deaf to these terms and these things happening.
I think that this adds not only detail and important information to that but hopefully
bring some empathy along with that.
Yeah, that's what I'm hoping for you know and I just want to acknowledge that this is a very
sensitive topic right now right and I want to be so genuine in letting all the listeners know
that my heart, my thoughts, my prayers are truly to those who are impacted directly or indirectly
by the fires in California right now and I just want to take this opportunity to really
discuss the ecological impacts of wildfire and also how we in Wisconsin can prepare ourselves
if something were to happen like this.
Yeah, there's some fascinating history involved with man and fire.
Yes and you know we've talked about this before with you, we've talked about it with a couple
of individuals actually when it comes to the history of control burning and some of these things.
It's all tied together and it's all interesting and I think important when we take a just maybe
a step back, a beat back to take this in.
Yeah so I mean we'll just start there about the cultural relevance of of kind of wild or
wildland fire in our you know countries history right.
So for a very long time fire was an integral part to many indigenous ways of life, many
indigenous peoples ways of life.
So Native Americans, Alaska natives, Native Hawaiians, they used to use fire to clear areas for crops
and travel, they used it to manage a lot of their land for specific species of both plants
and animals, they used it to hunt game to provide resources for themselves.
And for many other important uses these indigenous populations use fire as a tool to promote
ecological diversity and to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires right.
These practices were really ignored during the era of fire suppression in the 20th century due
to land management agencies enforcement of different practices.
However today this view has changed in recent years and the use of fire is now an accepted
practice for land management and it's an accepted practice and promoted practice in land management.
It's something that for again it's just really interesting to think about and to think of so
many of the beautiful parts of this state came from this you know and opened this up for us and
everything. It is a great thing to bring up and it's a great example as well of how wildfire can
be friend or foe. Yeah well it really can be James as we can see right now wildfire in the wrong
place at the wrong time can just wreak absolutely havoc to threaten our homes, communities, natural
and cultural resources and fire in the right place at the right time can be beneficial for the
environment for reasons like reducing grass, brush and trees that can fuel those larger fires
when not taken care of. So like we had started saying it may seem like we in Wisconsin can be
pretty far removed from wildfires but that is far from the truth. In fact according to the Wisconsin
DNR website I did a lot of research into this topic for our history. According to Wisconsin DNR
website the deadliest wildfire in Wisconsin's history occurred in 1871 for some of you who might
know that is the Pesh to Go fire. That burned 1.2 million acres. That is wow. Yeah 1.2 million acres
across Northeast Wisconsin. It took 1200 lives and estimated 169 million dollars in damage.
Yeah and in more recent history there was a German road fire that occurred in 2013 and it
consumed 7,499 acres and destroyed 104 structures in Douglas and Bayfield counties.
Just devastatingly here and in 2013 when I remember that I think many will out there and it's
hard to forget. Yeah and an important note I'm a history buff and I still I don't believe I
knew about that one in 1871. I don't think I heard about that. I will say as a kid growing up in
Chicago one of the first stories you hear is the Chicago fire and about that and it's where you
learn second city doesn't come from it comes from the rebirth of that city the phoenix of that city
coming back from the ashes. I think all of these stories are important especially given the current
climate and what is going on in the West Coast. Yes very much so. Wellfire causes.
I think it's another important aspect of this and can we get into that a little bit?
Yeah for sure so there are a lot of ways in which wild and fires can start and I'm only going to
touch on a couple today and I really encourage you if you're interested in learning more to go
to the Wisconsin DNR website. So according to Wisconsin DNR debris burning is the number one
cause for wildfires in Wisconsin. These fires generally occur in spring after the snow melts and
people are out taking care of their yards. You know this the snow has melted but the grass hasn't
greened up and there can be this timeframe in the middle where every there can be firebird or
burn warnings you know and really dry conditions and that's when people are burning
leaves are burning pine needles and that's when a majority of the debris fires start in Wisconsin.
There's also equipment fires which account for nearly one third of Wisconsin's wildfires.
Most of those are caused by sparks or hot exhaust systems from things like logging equipment
farm equipment or just off-road recreation vehicles. We also have campfires. Wisconsin is
very well known for our outdoor opportunities who doesn't love to go outside and have a campfire
right but if you don't take care of that campfire once you're done sitting around that that can be
a huge cause for wildfires. Yeah and I think a lot of our generations and you know you and all
that immediately they think of smoking the bear and some of that I think we'd use smoke you right
bring him back and he's still out there but the awareness to that stuff was so felt like it was
such like even in living in the city I saw stuff like that over time. I think bringing awareness to
this is one of the I think silver linings that can come from an event like this. How wildfire
impacts wildlife and force. This is something I again was new to me. I did not feel or experience
very much until moving out here and seeing how my grandparents were so empathetic about this
and worrying and wondering how the wildlife how the animals are doing and all that. That's an
important part of the topic too. Yeah it was so important so wildfires can be inevitable but not
all fire is harmful to our forests right a lot of our native animals plants etc have adapted
alongside ecosystems that have experienced fire throughout generations right so we're going to
talk about two different types of forest fires so we have low intensity fires these fires can
naturally clean and thin the forest by removing any flammable and thick vegetation on the
forest for floors and can reduce the risk of large scale high severity fires right so the results
of low intensity fires is improved habitat for wildlife healthier soils and new growth of native
plants. In fact some plants like I said in animal populations they've adapted a long side
fire and benefit from having fire on their landscapes so for example there's the endangered
carnivore butterfly caterpillar that gets all of its food from a plant that we can see here in
central Wisconsin which is wild lupin well wild lupin actually thrives in areas that have been
disturbed by fire so there's two two species plant and animal that benefit from fired you know
landscape that has experienced fire yep and then some plant seeds require exposure to
to fire in order to even germinate and grow and bloom so there's certain types of lilies that
have to experience their seeds have to experience fire in order to bloom and grow to that if piggybacking
off of that one of the things that I learned out in california was how some trees do this as well
the large pole pine eucalyptus and banschia all get released their seeds during a fire yeah
and there's even a pyro pyrolyphic pyropyphic plants yeah specific I think that's as fast as
I know it is nature is amazing it is truly just amazing yes and and there was a little more to
during low intensity fires yeah so during low intensity fires we oftentimes think about what is
the wildlife do they they've adapted to strategies to survive fire right so during these low
intensity fires they can avoid fire and smoke in a couple of different strategies so frogs and
rodents will often retreat into deep underground burrows where they will escape the fire and smoke
so other animals like deer and bear they'll move across or around the forest until the flames
subside so they can in those low intensity fires the fires not burning quick enough and isn't
moving quick enough through the landscape for them to you know not be able to escape they're
able to kind of move around those fires I didn't see it in person but one of the things I saw
in video I I I knew that there were bears in california yeah I didn't know how many until I saw
video yes and they're doing it like they're like they're like they're in order yeah like they're
they're so it's so organic the way they do it but it looks like they actually like okay who's
in who's in charge yeah who's in charge and all that it's very unique it also speaks to again
the creativity and the beauty of nature and how adaptable it is and I think that there's maybe
a bit of a sadness to it when you think about how nature has had to adapt because of things that we
have done or something fires have been happening long before oh yes oh yes and so animals
adapting to this it makes sense but it's still just fascinating and really cool to hear about and
again I I think brings in some empathy not only for these animals but for the our fellow human
bees all over not just in the west coast but whenever these things happen again or or what have you
yeah um the the high severity fire burns through the forest that the touching on some of that
you're touching on that a little bit too yeah yeah so high severity fires these are the fires that
burn through the forest floor and canopy and they can be devastating to wildlife habitat and surrounding
communities so during high severity wildfires wildlife have more challenging time finding refuge
because the fire burns so quickly across a landscape and then it actually climbs often to the tree
canopy um so this is you know what we're seeing in California it's moving at just such a rapid
rate um that it's just devastating devastating so these fires um they're burning so hot that they
can actually scorch the soil and cause it to be no more suitable um for habitat for like native
plants um and so when when you have these native plants that are just wrecked for lack of better
terms by wildfire they have a hard time coming back so what moves in invasive species yeah yeah
we've talked about invasive species before right it comes back it comes back just like invasive species
it keeps coming back and the so prolific and quick to move into those areas um we've talked about
wildlife corridors and in the past here on the show well wildlife quarters um in high severity fires
are greatly impacted um they can be disconnected due to the massive loss of vegetation
which impedes the natural movement of animals and can restrict habitat and food sources so
you know another one um that this brings up too is the severity of these things and uh
uh australia and how much wildlife i believe it was like something like 20 to 30% of their wildlife
they lost yeah during that last uh devastating fire they had a couple years ago um it brings it uh
it brings it home uh when these kind of things are happening in our in our neck of the woods yeah
definitely yeah and that high severity fires uh just one last thing yeah yep so high severity
fires we don't really think of water quality being impacted by fires but in high severity fires um
they can cause runoff that contains ash and debris well when that runoff reaches a lake river
stream it can actually really impact in a negative way the water quality and the life cycles of any
fish um or frogs any aquatic life really um so that's kind of another impact of those high
severity fires that i think oftentimes gets overlooked right with not really thinking about water
when we're thinking about fire i mean we are in a way but also not not the water resources right
right right and and uh it's so important uh no matter what the topic really if there if
there is an a chance to talk about water quality yeah to talk about it to bring it up to pay attention
to it um it's still something that uh is is on so many of our minds and something that we need to
focus on in order to make it happen and get this uh clean more more cleaner water um and i cannot
think you enough for this topic and diving into this with us today and really getting into not only
the history of it and the importance of that but the importance of understanding this stuff
you brought at home for us with some of the stories that uh happened here in Wisconsin
but it's just as noteworthy and just as important to have some empathy even if it wasn't happening
where it lasts um and i do appreciate the tie-in i've tried to do a similar thing on the morning
show and letting people know you know if uh everybody knock on wood all that uh you know
haven't forbid anything were to happen here in Wisconsin devastating like this yeah we would want
Californians caring about us yes we would want Californians traveling here to help us
like you see so many Wisconsinites and people from the Midwest traveling out to California right
now yeah uh we are all connected and and the way we get through this in life is together
and it's a community approach it's uh it's a nice reminder of that i think that i could sit there
and bark about it all i want this gives us the meat to back that up this gives us the dad and the
fax the back that up um and and again i think uh you can you could chew gum and walk at the same time
you can find so much of this interesting and appreciate the history of it and the future of
really uh so many of these things we talked about well also understanding that there is so much
going on out there that well there's as much as we grasp i think there's a lot that we're still
trying to grasp yeah we're still trying to uh understand and when it comes to all of this
what about what we can do this is one of my favorite things about talking with you
you could have just left the topic right there with all that information but you all you
would like to wrap up with how we can impact these things yeah i got to give it give the listeners
little homework assignment right yeah i love that and you know it's just i want to stress that
we are very removed right from the wildfires in california right now
it is a possibility in Wisconsin at the scale i don't know but it is something that we need to
think about how are we making sure that our communities and our homes are well prepared
for the circumstances of a wildfire um so i did a little bit of research on some resources that
would be helpful for the listeners to visit there's a ton of information on how to prepare your
homes yourself and your community for the possibility of wildfires um so one of those resources
is ready.gov um they have just a simple list of ways that you can plan for wildfires and some of
the ways include recognizing the warnings and alerts so you can download the FEMA app and receive
real-time alert real-time alerts from the national weather service um or you can sign up for community
alerts in your area through the emergency alert system so just really being aware of of those
systems that are out there to let you know if this is a possibility right you can make an emergency
plan and ensure that everybody in your household knows and understands that plan what will we do if
this is a possibility in our community right um you can strengthen your home by building or
remodeling with fire resistant materials um you can identify an outdoor water source with the
hose that can reach any part of your property right i mean i would say any part of your property
that is close to your home the buildings that you don't want lost in in an instance like this um
so you can create a fire resistance uh zone that is free of leaves debris or debris or any other
flammable materials that's at least 30 feet from your home um and then just know your evacuation
zone and your evacuation route those are things that are never horrible to practice never bad and
while it is nothing even close to what's going on in California no i i've mentioned before my
family had a really devastating fire happened to our home and having a plan uh literally saved us
and saved our dogs saved uh so much of the uh what was in that house um and it could have been so
much worse without having a plan it's a great note about that um and and we want to encourage people
to check out the DNR's website as well yeah so Wisconsin DNR if you go to their website it's
DNR dot wisconsin dot gov you can search fire management they have a web page on there with just
loads of wonderful resources and information that help you understand wildfire help you understand
how land management in Wisconsin uses prescribed burning as a practice but also um they've got
really great resources on preparing your property for the possibility of wildfire um they give you
action steps to become what they call fire wise um really great resources to just increase your
knowledge of what to do in the circumstances and how to prepare um and this website also has
resources for community fire plans so if your community planner i'm sure a majority of communities
have that maybe reaching out if your community member reaching out and seeing if your community
has a fire plan and make yourself aware of what that fire plan is you uh you have insurance and
you hope you never have to use it yeah you've got that uh there and you break glass in case of
needed that's what these things are and and whether it's the DNR website or some of the other resources
Anna has given you today they can only help you strengthen that and hopefully you never have to
use any of this but boy it's good to have yeah it is so good to have and you know besides ready dot
gov and Wisconsin DNR if if you just want to learn more us fishing wildlife service us for service
there's so many different u.s park service they there's so many different resources out there
that you can look into um research for just more information on how to inform yourself i can't
stress this enough i think every time i come on here i really just want to help the the listeners
inform themselves of topics to be aware of their natural resources to be aware of how to protect
their natural resources you know um and you're doing an amazing job at it we will greatly appreciate
the details you put into this um you can find out more as well if how you can help impact things
over in california right now if you go to our website civic media dot us there's a link right there
to uh go to con con wave of hope uh there are some other resources as well encourage it to look into
in any ways that you can help out over there we greatly appreciate that and as much as we
appreciate the time from you Anna yeah and uh all the research and all the homework you put into
these things um they really don't i don't know if the audience or even i understand how much you
put into this and the added extra the extra benefit you put into thank you so much for that i
really do appreciate it uh if people want to find out more reach out to you yourself how can they do
that yeah you can stop into the extension office over at the wood county courthouse um or you can
email me at anna dot m dot james at whisk w i s c dot edu and check out their website extension
dot whisk dot edu as well bookmarked that be sure to follow them on social media share the events in
the different things that they share on their page you just never know who might see it otherwise
and support our friends at you w extension because boy did they support our communities and put
back into our communities and i would appreciate you again say happy new year to everybody over
there for us and we'll talk to you again soon yeah thanks so much james we'll have more midday
magazine coming up for you as well right here at ninety seven five f m thirteen twenty a.m.
wfh are we are locally grown radio
