‘Nova’ Takes On West’s Wildfires

Can we control the forces of nature?

Based on the battles depicted in the “Nova” report “Fire Wars” (8 p.m., KCET, KVCR), the answer remains in doubt. Every year wildfires scorch the American West, and armies of firefighters mobilize to save threatened land and communities. Despite technological and strategic advances, the war on wildfire has been as frustrating as the war on drugs.

“Nova” follows the men and women of an elite crew known as the Arrowhead Hotshots during the ruinous summer of 2000, during which 6 million acres burned.

The season started in Los Alamos, N.M., when a prescribed burn designed to clear combustibles spread out of control. The Arrowheads fought one blaze, in Clear Creek, Idaho, that raged for two months. Harrowing footage shows the Arrowheads trapped by a crown of fire that lighted trees like torches and sent tornadoes of flame skyward.

This thoughtful and exhaustive--if at times exhausting--two-hour show also looks at a century of fire-policy trial and error. The war on wildfire dates from 1910, when millions of acres in the Rockies burned and scores of firefighters died. Determined to avoid another such tragedy, officials adopted a policy of “100% suppression,” throwing all resources at wildfires.

That policy led to overgrown terrain, and the deadly wildfires continued. Ecologists also now recognize that many of our most cherished landscapes depend on fire to recycle nutrients.

Of course, the prescribed burns now favored pose risks of their own, and the smoke has spurred protests in many communities.

As narrator Stacy Keach says, experts still are seeking “an elusive balance.” The war continues.