why we can’t ‘just’ split big forests into multiple blocks so when a block burns it doesn’t spread through the whole forest.

Question

Well the title is the question.
With ‘split’ I mean create some space between blocks where fire has nothing to travel to the next block to spread.

I imagine that actions like dropping water with helicopters would also be unnecessary since we could ‘give up’ a burning block and then the fire would be over.

Or am I too naive about it?

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

For one, money. That would be extremely expensive to do it over a big enough area. Extremely resource intensive also, to keep a 200 yard stretch of forest Mike’s long clearcut down to the dirt.

Then that would also create environmental issues and cause problems for animals, I think they have figured out that leaving islands of trees behind after clear-cutting areas is still bad for local populations of animals. Plus more erosion, etc.

Also, fire is good for a lot of species, at least small regular fires. The problem is we have been stopping all fires for the past several decades, which leaves us with a giant pile up of fuel on the forest floor that creates giant raging fires that kill everything, as opposed to small brush fires which clear out undergrowth and clutter.