We Should Let Some Wildfires Burn
In the last few years, wildfires have been getting worse – and, oddly, it’s because humans have been preventing them. From a helicopter above the forests of British Columbia, and from the Tree Ring Lab at UBC, let’s talk about how we should just let some wildfires burn.
Thanks to Bradley Friesen! He’s about to properly launch his channel ‘Destruction by Gravity’: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL3Kr3kf9W34cUvurxl7AGw
and Mister Bentley the Dog is on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrbentley_thedog/
Thanks to Dr Lori Daniels at the University of British Columbia! Her recent research into wildfires includes:
Chavardes, R.D., L.D. Daniels, Z. Gedalof, D.W. Andison. (2018). Human influences superseded climate to disrupt the 20th century fire regime in Jasper National Park, Canada. Dendrochronologia 48:10-19.
and this op-ed in the Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/we-created-bcs-wildfire-problem-and-we-can-fix-it/article35686104/
Thanks to the BC Wildlife Service for letting me use their photos: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status
Edited by Michelle Martin https://www.youtube.com/@OnTheCrux
Post audio by Emi Paternostro (http://proximitysound.com)
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@TomScottGo
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Thanks so much to Bradley, and to Dr Daniels. This is the last Monday video from Canada — but I’ll definitely be back in the future.
@bigbird2240
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Allow all fires to burn they need to burn to keep them open and healthy
@BradTheThird
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
It 2023 and now a wildfire is suddenly a sign of the end of days… Or at least you'd have thought it by the way they go on about them.
@Detson404
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
So this is all Tom Scott’s fault!
@elisam.r.9960
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Strangely, this is an area where Florida has it together. I grew up observing controlled burns in the state, so this video made sense to me right away.
@Oldfartstuff2.0
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
The earth and fire teaming up like " shut up humans we been doing this a lot longer than you."
@kay_glo
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
As someone who lives in Florida, I assumed everyone knew prescribed burns were a thing
@jasong6027
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
This has been known for decades. But people who run states like California are morons
@D4Z35
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
I don't think the pilot posted much if anything 🤔🤷🏼♂️
@D4Z35
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Oh god 😅 the pupper
@knoodle6848
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
What the dog doin
@sfrsteel
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
So from my understand the info given at the beginning record temperatures, climate change etc, is not infact the reason for the fires. They have been happening from the beginning of trees. And are needed by the forest to stay healthy and grow. Don't tell Newsom.
@ScottDuensing
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
I can see Chulak from here!
@AuraMaster7
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Helicopter dog
@hornetscales8274
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
I do wonder about how the environmentalists react to a controlled burn, or even a natural fire: Seems that they would be all out of shape over the "pollution" put into the air.
@CookingWithCows
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
They should rake their forests.
@BirdsofAccord
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
I live in Louisiana and we do control burns all the time. California keeps ignoring this truth and that's why their wildfires are so bad.
@jasonbutcher364
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Control burns do happen in the UK, often used to manage heathland
@willmetz1490
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
We are only now just realizing how much we need this over in California
@izzo2271
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Same thing happens in one of the most famous mountains in the world – Table Mountain, Cape Town. The fynbos (the famous plants found only here) are dependent on fires to continue propagating – the seeds won't even grow unless there has been a fire and the nutrients in the fires has been released
@fox.huntre
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Managed wildfires have been part of native stewardship of the land for a very long time
@xZeroGrxvity
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
So climate change and wildfires are good for the environment.
I put that in my notebook.
@digitaldobbie
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
I don’t know what part of England you’re from but the England I live in is full of forestry.
@AkutomiNamikaze
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Btw, native tribes knew about the need for controlled burnings for centuries, but it was the governments (US & Canada) stopping them under threat of arson charges. That’s partially why the PNW and a lot of California have been suffering so many out of control fires, along with drought caused by climate change and agricultural industries stealing water.
@1.4142
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Similar thing in the western US
@1.4142
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Lytton, British Columbia just broke the Canadian record high temperature with a whopping 49.6 °C (121 °F) on June 29th. The next day, 90% of it was burned by a wildfire which also produced a firestorm with more fire-starting lightning.
@Kaadilac
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Tbh we should have left the Woolsey burn, I'm sick of California, just let it all burn.
@s2ms10ik5
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
I still feel like this would apply to a very little portion of wildfire cases. Most wildfires nowadays (or at least the ones I have witnessed) are powerful enough to wipe almost all plant life on huge areas. Some burned pine forests near where I live changed drastically in vegetation after ~10 years. They now mostly consist of short bushes and patches of grass instead of new pine sprouts. The soil is still relatively "dead". It's definitely more than "cleaning out old branches". Maybe it depends on the climate?
@shreyarora9738
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
tom, area is in km^2 not km, i did not expect this from you. im disappointed.
@Helfiredrew
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
I'm not sure why I didn't stumble on this earlier as a subscriber. I'm a wildland firefighter in the US. I'm grateful for videos like this being available to the public. Thanks Tom!
@WillKemp
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Burnt an area the size of Manhattan… How big is Manhattan???
@ComfyCherry
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Living in aus I learned about controlled forest fires a long time ago, apparently the aboriginal did it before we came along and we do it now, when I read the title I half expected you to be in Aus
@almostcertainlynotapotato6528
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Some say the world will end in fire,
Tom says in ice…
Robert "NOt-the-actual-poet-kind-but-the-nickname-of-a-commenter-on-youtube-kind" Frost
@no1fanofthepals
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
huh
@danielnunn9438
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Make sure to bring a candle! Always bring a candle if you think you might be in the woods.
@gregdabrat
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
People who live in santa rosa No.
@red007master
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
1:45 flying doggo))
@hain_train
May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm
(Cut to Australia 2019-2020)
Comments are closed.