Forest fires are an entirely natural phenomenon in many regions of the world. There, they have a positive influence on the affected forest area - for example, when the extreme heat generated during a fire releases seeds from which new trees grow. But there is an extremely worrisome downside to forest fires, which this study addresses: Whenever forest fires occur too violently, in the wrong place, at an unusual time, or too frequently, it is a sure sign that the ecosystem is out of whack due to human intervention. In these cases, forest fires pose a serious threat.
