Fire is many things; wild, controlled, rejuvenating, destructive, cultural, ecological, and most obviously, dangerous. Science writer Jacob Margolis lives in California where fire has become a constant worry. As a result, he plunged headfirst into the world of fire and came out with one of the best podcast series on fire that is available today. The Big Burn starts from the beginning and allows listeners to make sense of fire and to help them better understand, and therefore better cope with, the reality of fire.
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Quotes
28.40 - 28.50: “We clearly need a complete overhaul of how we handle fire and… forested ecosystems, especially here in the State of California.”
Takeaways
Knowledge is power (05.08)
Jacob loves being a science journalist because he gets to dive deep into things that interest him. He has covered space exploration and now covers disasters and climate change. While the fire experts may say 2015 was the year fires became an issue in California, Jacob finds that the general public only noticed after the big fires in 2017. Since then, he has covered fire to help people understand it and make it “a little less scary”.
Playing with fire (08.48)
Before starting his podcast, The Big Burn, Jacob felt scared and upset with fires. The fires have gotten worse since he was a child, and he had a moment of despair during the pandemic, wondering how to keep his own children safe from the smoke. He has now spent time weatherizing his home by buying air purifiers, which has empowered him a little. The podcast helps him understand how to approach the problem of fire and increase his comfort with it.
Fire season (13.46)
Jacob states that the fire season in California comes around late August, and stays till early December. The Santa Ana winds start in September - October, and the wait is till the winds come to an end in April or they get rain. The winds are strong and they carry the fires that start in dry areas like Chatsworth and bring them to the valley, home to millions of people. Firefighters cannot stop the fire if those winds are there.
Tell me a story (16.21)
Jacob notes that people feel that fires can happen at any time of the year. However, they rebuild their homes in the same place torn by the fires each year. He narrates a time when his house was “inundated with smoke for weeks”. His journey of creating a podcast on fire was to find an angle that would appeal to the listeners, going from the threat of the loss of the giant sequoias to finding a middle ground with people who don’t like trees.
“Fire is not binary” (21.30)
Jacob addresses prescribed burning over a number of episodes in his podcast. The episode on doing a prescribed burn was the easiest for him to write because of the action and how relatable it was due to the explanations in the episode. He received positive feedback on prescribed burning after the episode, asking him why more of it isn’t being done. He is excited about having people talk to him about it.
Fire exclusion and suppression (23.56)
Jacob highlights that tree ring records show that fuel buildup in the forests began in the mid-1800s. This is when the gold rush took place, which devastated Indigenous communities who had been actively managing the landscape. The exclusion of fire from California forests made the forests inaccessible. He talks about why fire suppression was chosen as the method to manage forests for the last 100 years.
How wildfires change ecosystems (26.05)
Jacob discusses how some scientists and academics began to notice that fuel buildup had increased the wildfires taking place. They began introducing the idea of prescribed burning but it stayed within the national parks. With climate change came high-intensity fires. The chaparral ecosystem of California used to recover with longer fire intervals, but with more frequent fires, the ecosystem was replaced by grass.
Indigenous land management (29.44)
Jacob explains that Native Americans had a different perspective on and relationship with the land. He believes that present-day land use and management policies are worth examining against the Indigenous framework. He spoke to Ken Pimlott, former Chief of Cal Fire, who mentioned that when he joined, prescribed burning wasn’t taking place, but after Indigenous consultation, they started a vegetation treatment program in the 80s and 90s. He speaks about how firefighting seems to look good compared to the value of prescribed burning.
Managing prescribed fires (36.15)
Jacob laments that there isn’t a robust enough system to handle a prescribed fire going awry, on the rare occasion that it does. He shares that investment toward finding a solution is taking place. “I think the shift is occurring, but I am quite curious to see at what scale and on what timetable it is able to occur”, he says. He also notes that there isn’t much incentive for firefighters to be around prescribed burns. How to create an incentive structure for prescribed burning is a question that remains for Indigenous fire practitioners, Jacob believes.
“Pay attention to the things that excite you” (42.31)
Jacob points out that the general public does not know what goes into prescribed burning. He helps them see the nuances and understand the ultimate purpose behind it. He is excited to share the history, stories and context of the land with the audience to help shape their view of it. He acknowledges the need to prove oneself when communicating on science but recognizes that the audience will relate only to genuine moments of discovery.
The good fire angle (49.48)
Jacob believes talking about good fire is just the beginning, and he is mindful of how he frames it, in case people in the government are listening. People are drawn to the war narrative of fire, so it takes creativity to show them how fire can be good and engage them in it. If you introduce the high stakes of not doing prescribed burning like losing giant sequoias or having too much smoke, you can get buy-in and start to shift the conversation, he says. If people were able to attend a prescribed burn, it would make it more relatable and powerful in its messaging.
Change is needed (1.00.40)
Jacob is of the opinion that “how we treat our world is not working, especially when it comes to climate change”. He believes that we need to examine how we think about the world, which for him personally, is an ongoing conversation in the podcast. Profit has become part of the conversation in order to get public buy-in, and he deliberates the best way to communicate this message to the public.
“We need to do a better job to care for people” (1.08.13)
Jacob believes, “We need to find more empathy for those around us that suffer the most”. He deliberates our obligations to those affected by disasters and those with disabilities, and the efficiency of the current support available. His podcast covers practical tips for disaster management, to help people process scary realities and find hope. He brought his son along with a therapist in one of the episodes, to answer some of the world’s biggest questions. Jacob is hopeful about teaching his son to frame fires correctly in his mind.
Stay in touch! (1.21.25)
Reach out to Jacob on Twitter if you love communicating science and have questions. He is happy to offer insight and help science folks in any way he can! He acknowledges that others feel overwhelmed by climate change too and his hope for the world is that they come to a place where they can begin to process their own thoughts and feelings about it.
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