Scott Morrison is a scientist with The Nature Conservancy in California. He specializes in ecology of the urban-wildland interface, focusing on the creation and management of nature reserves in the heavily populated landscape of Southern California. Before joining the Conservancy in 2001, he was a Peace Corps volunteer working on a reforestation project in the mountains of southern Costa Rica. Dr. Morrison holds a B.S. in biology from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in biology from Dartmouth College. Get Involved You can learn more and explore new places when you join the Conservancy's online community and build you own personalized nature page. Fire and Conservation Area Map Enlarge this image Go Deeper From California Read a statement about the 2007 Southern California wildfires from regional director Mark Sanderson. Fire as a Conservation Issue Learn more about how the Conservancy’s Global Fire Initiative is helping to prevent too much, too little, or the wrong kind of fire from harming people and landscapes across the world. Fire, Ecosystems and People More than half the world depends on fire to maintain healthy ecosystems. Read the results of The Nature Conservancy’s latest report on the condition of fire around the world. Fire Lingo What’s a controlled burn? And what does it mean to be a fire-dependent ecosystem? Learn the lingo in our online fire management glossary. Fire damage, California. Photo © Richard Herrmann

In late October 2007 fires ravaged Southern California, destroying 2,000 homes and causing well over $1 billion in damage. Our hearts go out to the individuals directly affected by this disaster.

While attention rightfully focused on the immediate toll on the communities that suffered, the ecological impact has yet to be assessed. Nature.org spoke with Scott Morrison, a biologist with The Nature Conservancy in California, about the potential impacts, whether climate change played a role, and why conservation is crucial in minimizing such disasters.

nature.org: These fires are obviously a huge disaster for people living in Southern California. What about their impact on natural communities?

Scott Morrison: Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned, so there will certainly be consequences. But at this early stage, it’s difficult to assess the extent of the impact.

Once things settle down, we’ll inventory ecological damage. Our primary concern right now, though, is staying out of the way of the fire crews so they can more safely do their work, and supporting the people whose lives have been so disrupted by these fires.

nature.org: The fires seem extraordinarily large — why?

Scott Morrison: A few factors. First, extreme drought has combined with hot Santa Ana winds blowing in from the desert with very low humidity — conditions that have created a “perfect firestorm.”

Second, these fires are also highly correlated with urban development — when natural areas are surrounded by human land use, we see an increase in wildfire ignition.

While the size of these fires are not historically unnatural given pre-settlement fire patterns, the reduced size of our remaining natural areas and their proximity to human use makes fires like these especially problematic — for both nature and people.

nature.org: Is it true that fire can be beneficial for some natural communities in Southern California?

Scott Morrison: Yes. Our natural communities have evolved with fire — so they're adapted to periodic fires, which clear out dead plants and debris and allow new growth to receive nutrients, water and sunlight. In fact, fire is essential to the viability of many native species in Southern California.

If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that this ecosystem will burn. In fact, one of the reasons California has such high biodiversity is because it burns. San Diego County has more species — and more imperiled species — than any other county in the continental United States. Fire helps sustain that diversity.

The fires underscore the importance of large, connected conservation areas — large enough to provide refuge for species that can then recolonize the burned areas again.

nature.org: Is there a connection between these fires and climate change?

Scott Morrison: Our global climate is changing — but the specific consequences of that locally are still unclear.

The better focus is on what we can do today to help our natural systems get through climate change — whatever the effects. And for the Conservancy, that means staying the course. Good conservation and land use planning is good fire management planning — and it's also good climate change preparation.

nature.org: So what's the Conservancy doing in Southern California to make a difference against threats like massive wildfires and global climate change?

Scott Morrison: We focus in Southern California on the protection of large, intact and interconnected landscapes — giving natural processes such as fire the room to play out.

This focus is important for two reasons. First, preventing fragmentation of intact landscapes helps keep people, property and our essential infrastructure out of places that may be dangerous or even impossible to defend from wind-driven wildfire.

Second, by preventing habitat loss and fragmentation, we’re giving species the space they need to move around — so they can find refuge from fire and adapt to the changing climate. If our native diversity is going to persist for future generations, we must create a network of conservation reserves that is larger than the largest catastrophic event.

nature.org: After the fires are over, what will the Conservancy do to restore burnt preserves and properties?

Scott Morrison: In most places, nature will take care of the recovery. Within a month or so, we’ll see sprouting at the base of many plants that appear otherwise completely charred, and sprouting of seed banks that have long been dormant. It is truly remarkable how quickly the renewal can occur.

But there will be areas where we will want to go in and help things along. The most immediate priority will be to restore the impacts from the fire suppression efforts. On some reserves, for example, fire crews needed to cut in new roads and bulldozer lines. We need to make sure that those lines are repaired so they don’t create erosion or weed problems in the future.

We also need to identify where the fires may have longer-term adverse effects. In San Diego County, for example, the big fires in 2003 burned a rare Tecate Cypress forest and habitat of some very rare butterfly species on Otay Mountain. The 2007 fires coming so soon on the heels of the last ones may have some serious consequences on these systems.

It’s humbling to witness an event like this and think that it could possibly be what pushes a species over the brink of extinction.

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Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Chris Helzer (Fire); Photo © TNC (Scott Morrison); Map © Brian Cohen/TNC (Fire and Conservation Area Map)