Tree rings reveal how Western Apache controlled Arizona’s wildfires for centuries

Western Apache fire management once reshaped Arizona’s forests — and tree rings prove it.

A new study combining tree-ring evidence and historical data shows that for centuries, Western Apache communities systematically controlled fire activity across their homeland, reducing the role of climate in driving wildfires. Led by Southern Methodist University fire scientist Christopher Roos, the research analyzed 649 fire-scarred trees from 34 sites in central and eastern Arizona and compared them to several thousand samples from the broader Southwest. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , show that Apache burns were more frequent, smaller, and timed differently than fires elsewhere in the region. ×

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