Fighting Fire With Fire
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Some firefighters are finding the best way to prevent fires is to set fires.
Millions of acres of brush and forest burn in America every year. Fires can be dangerous, damaging, and even deadly.
But fire is a natural part of the cycle of plant life. In fact, if too many years go by without a fire, the next fire will be worse, because there's so much more to burn.
So fire experts sometimes carefully burn parts of a forest on purpose. That thins out the smaller trees and plants. But the big trees survive.
Some day, a thunderstorm will start a natural fire in one of these forests. But thanks to the man-made burn, it won't become a disaster.
What's the best thing you can do to help the forests? Make sure you're not setting fires. If they aren't set by experts, they can kill both forests and people.
From 'In The News' with CBS News correspondent Dan Raviv. ©1998, CBS Worldwide Inc., All Rights Reserved