California is making historic investments in fighting fire…with fire.

That’s not a metaphor. Controlled burns help prevent megafires which threaten entire ecosystems and communities. Controlled burns, or prescribed fires, are contained fires that are set and put out by specialized crews. These burns reduce the brush that acts as kindling for catastrophic fires—helping stop megafires before they start.

Go behind the scenes on a recent controlled burn with TNC Project Manager Angel Hertslet in our “Notes from the Field” series—watch this video to learn more about the how and why of controlled burns in the Sierra Nevada.