On a quiet afternoon in March, members of the Mechoopda Tribe set fire in the city limits of Chico for the first time in more than a century.

The group he’s speaking to is part of the Butte Prescribed Burn Association (PBA), volunteers who help landowners conduct burns on their properties. The goal is to help reduce vegetation that can stoke large and intense wildfires, and to bring about ecological benefits to land in Butte County.

Putting prescribed fire on the ground benefits the environment and can help make communities safer from wildfire. The practice takes training and knowledge, but it can be learned like any skill.

California is in a drought — and not just a drought of water, but also a drought of fire. But how is that possible when the state has been experiencing more large and destructive fires than ever in recent years? Well, many fire experts say these extreme fires are largely due to a lack of fire, through a century of wildfire suppression and not getting enough deliberate or “good” fire on the ground.