In June 2002, nearly half a million acres burned in the Arizona high country. At the time, the Rodeo-Chediski Fire was the largest wildfire in the state’s history. There was too much fuel in the forest, a buildup that began more than a century ago.
Enough people saw the record-breaking fire and agreed that something needed to be done to prevent the next big fire.
But correcting mistakes of the past is often tougher than it sounds. Almost two decades later, those involved in responding to the Rodeo-Chediski say they’re still learning what it will take to get ahead of wildfires, and the effects they have on headwater forests.
“I think the first thing to recognize is that the Southwest and California are built to burn,” said fire historian Stephen Pyne, author of “Fire in America.”