Forest fires are judged to be nasty, especially when one's own house or life is threatened, or when grave harm is being done to tourist attractions. The popular conviction that fires are an unqualified evil reached its zenith after a third of Yellowstone Park in the US was destroyed by fire in 1988. Nevertheless, conventional wisdom among forest managers remains that it is best to let natural forest fires burn themselves out, unless particularly dangerous conditions apply. Burning appears to be part of a natural process of forest rejuvenation. Moreover, intermittent fires burn away the undergrowth that might accumulate and make any eventual fire uncontrollable.
在人们看来，森林大火非常险恶，尤其是当它威胁到自己的家园或生命，或者严重危及旅游胜地时。火是彻头彻尾的祸害，这种普遍看法在1988年美国黄石公园有三分之一被烧毁后达到了顶峰。尽管如此，森林管理员一般仍认为，除非发生了特别危险的情况，否则最好让自然林火自生自灭。燃烧似乎是森林新陈代谢这一自然过程的一部分。此外，间歇性的林火还会清除林下的灌木丛。否则，这些灌木丛越积越多，一旦发生大火，会导致局面失控。