“Prescribed (‘Rx’) fire is increasingly proposed as a policy strategy to reduce wildfire risks in the western US, but evidence of its effectiveness in lowering fire severity and smoke emissions remains limited. We empirically demonstrate that, for areas that had been recently treated with Rx fire and then burned during the extreme 2020 wildfire season in California, Rx fires led to a net reduction of −14% in smoke emissions, although these treatments were less effective in areas near human populations.”

From American Geophysical Union.