Forest fires are nothing new, but they are different these days- bigger and more destructive than ever. Before human settlement, forest fires occasionally cleared areas where there was too much of a buildup of organic fuel, mostly wood. Animals learned to escape a forest fire, and some returned to a burned area quite soon- after all, a burned area cannot burn again. One species of marsupial developed an ability to induce its own hibernation during a fire. It would burrow underground and enter a state of torpor until the danger had passed overhead! Other species of animals -as well as plants and microbes- seek out burned areas for the released nutrients in the ash to start the process of renewal.
A change came about when people began fighting forest fires instead of letting them burn. The result was a massive buildup of fuel, which makes modern uncontrollable wildfires much more dangerous and destructive. But still, nature is adapting. Read about the animal kingdom's strategies for dealing with inevitable wildfires at Vox. -via Damn Interesting
(Image credit: U.S. Forest Service- Pacific Northwest Region)