In 2021, a wildfire burned through black spruce forest near Fairbanks, Alaska. When researchers later tested the ground, they found that in the burned area a thaw probe sank at least three times deeper before hitting permafrost than in adjacent unburned forest. The fire had stripped away the insulating moss and organic soil, exposing frozen ground to warmer air.
This local measurement illustrates a larger Arctic problem. Boreal forests and tundra store roughly twice as much carbon as the atmosphere, but fires are becoming more frequent and severe as the region warms up to four times faster than the global average. When permafrost thaws, organic matter decomposes and releases greenhouse gases, creating a feedback loop. In 2023, Canadian wildfires released more carbon than the country's fossil fuel emissions.
To address this, researchers are exploring interventions that were once considered unthinkable: controlled burns, faster detection and suppression, and even sending firefighters into remote areas to protect carbon stores rather than homes. A new multimillion-dollar partnership called North Fire, involving the Woodwell Climate Research Center, the University of Victoria, and the Alaska Venture Fund, will study the feasibility and emissions benefits. The idea is controversial because wildfire is natural and suppression is costly, but some scientists argue that human-caused warming has already intervened in these ecosystems.