Wildfires also nature’s way of making way for new forest life

When people and property are endangered, wildfires are viewed as calamities. And, indeed, to those directly affected, they can be deadly and devastating. But from nature’s point of view, wildfires play an integral role in the health of a forest by thinning trees, burning dead or decaying matter and returning nutrients to the soil. Unlike the horrific occurrences in Tennessee, there has been no loss of human life or significant structural damage in South Carolina this year due to wildfires. But the recent Pinnacle Mountain Fire, as it is now named, became the largest in South Carolina’s modern history, affecting 10,623 acres and encompassing a 31-mile perimeter that included Table Rock and Pinnacle mountains. After four days of much-needed rain, the wildfire – which was accidentally started by an escaped campfire Nov. 9 – was declared officially contained Dec. 5 by incident command officials. Preparations to reduce erosion that might have occurred during fire suppression activities are already under way. “Fire has always been a natural occurrence in our ecosystem that has many benefits,” said Derrick Phinney, a Clemson Cooperative Extension natural resources division leader based in Dorchester. “As far back as the American Indians, fire was a main staple of forest management. Whether intentionally set or started by lightning strikes, fire regenerates forests, renews the soil and basically resets the clock. But in more recent times, the number of prescribed burns has greatly decreased because of numerous reasons, such as air-quality issues caused by smoke. When highways, schools and hospitals are built near or even within forests, this limits fire usage.” Because of these limitations, higher-than-normal buildups of undesirable fuel loads, such as invasive undergrowth, brush and ground litter, create conditions that, when combined with drought, low humidity and wind, can result in dire consequences. A fire that would normally flow through a forest doing relatively little harm to the larger trees instead burns so hot that it annihilates everything in its path.