U.S. Forest Service changes criticized ‘let it burn’ wildfire policy

LOS ANGELES, California -- The U.S. Forest Service has told its firefighters to stop following the agency's ‘let it burn’ policy after criticism from western state officials about the potential for small wildfires to grow into uncontrollable blazes, the L.A. Times reported Wednesday.

Under the ‘let it burn’ approach, Forest Service crews would allow some naturally-caused small blazes in secluded areas to burn in the hopes of grooming forest lands to make them more resilient to fires.

That approach came under scrutiny after the July 4th Tamarack fire in California, which was initially a small blaze ignited by a lighting strike in a remote area. Rather than attempt to put the fire out, forestry leaders decided to just monitor it; the blaze would later grow to 69,000 acres and consume numerous homes.

Forest Service Chief Randy Moore announced the policy change in a letter to staff that was obtained by the L.A. Times, saying the current fire season is “different from any before” and poses a “national crisis.”