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Shifting fire regimes driven by fire suppression, fuel accumulation, and climate change are threatening the persistence of dry forest landscapes across the western United States. Managers are increasingly investing in restoration and fuel reduction treatments, yet key questions remain about how much of a landscape must be treated to reduce burn severity and restore functioning fire regimes. This presentation dives into the results from an analysis of 5,084 fires over 16 years which allowed researchers to 1) quantify burned landscape treatment composition and 2) evaluate how the percentage of area treated influences inside-boundary, outside-boundary, and cumulative fire effects across three spatial scales and three major ecoregions. Learn about how increasing treated area generally increases the proportion of low- to moderate-severity fire effects at the landscape scale, driven primarily by strong inside-boundary effects with measurable, though smaller, “shadow” effects beyond treatment edges, and the complementary roles of mechanical treatments, prescribed fire, and managed wildfire in achieving landscape targets of roughly 40–60% area treated. 

Media Record Details

Feb 20, 2026

Caden P. Chamberlain

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Fire History
Fire Regime
Fuel Treatments & Effects
Prescribed Fire-use treatments
Restoration

NRFSN number: 28783
Record updated: