Native Californians used fire to maintain the forests that surrounded them for more than 14,000 years. This prevented future wildfires and supported many plants and animals that need fire to thrive. On the second episode of California Burning, Matt shadows a pyrogeographer and learns how the Yurok Tribe (Yurok Reservation) on the Klamath River and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Santa Cruz are bringing fire back to the land.
"When we put fire on the land, there's something about it that just, it speaks to your spirit. It's like you connect with it and you connect on a deeper level with the land." —Margo Robbins
Featuring the President of the Cultural Fire Management Council, Margo Robbins, the Chico State Professor of Pyrogeography, Don Hankins, and the Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Santa Cruz, Valentin Lopez.
Credit Matt Fidler
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