Socially Explicit Fire Regimes

Fire regime classifications are established and proven tools that guide fire policy, management, and science. They summarize and organize complex information into a concise measure of the timing, intensity, and distribution of fire. The idea of fire regime deserves careful examination because it provides the guiding rationale for managing vast acreage. We identify and unpack two fire regimes articulated in the intense public, professional, and scientific debate that following the 2003 “Cedar” fire outside San Diego, one of the largest and fastest moving fires in California history. We contrast these two regimes and describe their implications for science, management, policy, and land use.