Pyrotherapy Success: Healing Communities Through Controlled Fire
The first pyrotherapy event in January 2023 at Noble Park in Paradise, California, was a success. Participants felt relaxed and calm near a controlled fire, marking a significant step in healing communities affected by wildfires. Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the Fire Network, emphasizes the importance of trauma-informed approaches to prescribed burns.
Kyle Mason, who escaped the Camp Fire in 2018, found healing and empowerment in experiencing prescribed fire through a course at California State University, Chico. The program, developed by Blake Ellis, aims to re-normalize good fire and help fire survivors heal their relationship with fire. It educates participants about the ecology of fire, Indigenous uses of fire, and the innate relationship between humans and fire before engaging them in nature therapy involving interactions with a live fire. Don Hankins, an environmental geographer, believes that prescribed fire can help heal both the land and the community, encouraging people to tend fire themselves to understand its importance. The program seeks to expand opportunities for people to be exposed to good fire, as fire has burned five times as much area across California in the 2010s as it did in the 1970s.
The successful pyrotherapy event at Noble Park signals a positive shift in how communities view and interact with fire. The program, led by Blake Ellis and supported by David Mitchell and He-Lo Ramirez, offers a path to healing and understanding for wildfire survivors. As fire continues to play an increasing role in California's ecology, initiatives like this become increasingly important.
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