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Though often viewed as a problem for western states,
尽管日益频发的野火常被视为西部州的问题，
the growing frequency of wildfires is a national concern because of its impact on federal tax dollars,
但由于它对联邦税收的巨大影响，目前已成为一件举国关切之事，
says Professor Max Moritz, a specialist in fire ecology and management.
林火生态与消防管理专家马克思·莫里茨表示。
In 2015, the US Forest Service for the first time spent more than half of its $5.5 billion annual budget fighting fires,
美国林务局每年用于防火的预算是55亿美元，2015年它的防火费用首次超过了这个预算的一半，
nearly double the percentage it spent on such efforts 20 years ago.
几乎是二十年前在这方面支出比例的一倍。
In effect, fewer federal funds today are going towards the agency's other work,
事实上，现在用于该机构其他工作的联邦基金减少了，
such as forest conservation, watershed and cultural resources management, and infrastructure upkeep
诸如森林保护、集水区及文化资源管理以及基础设施的维护，
that affect the lives of all Americans.
这些工作影响了所有美国人的生活。
Another nationwide concern is whether public funds from other agencies are going into construction in fire-prone districts.
另一件举国关切之事是，来自其他机构的公共基金是否将用于火灾易发区的建设。
As Moritz puts it, how often are federal dollars building homes that are likely to be lost to a wildfire?
正如莫里茨教授所说，用于建设家园的联邦资金可能会被吞没到火灾中的频率如何？
"It's already a huge problem from a public expenditure perspective for the whole country," he says."
他说：“从公共支出的角度来看，这对整个国家来说已经是一个巨大的难题”，
We need to take a magnifying glass to that.
对此，我们需要用放大镜来看这个问题。
Like, "Wait a minute, is this OK?"
比如说，等一下，‘这样做可行吗？’
"Do we want instead to redirect those funds to concentrate on lower-hazard parts of the landscape?"
还是我们转而想要把那些资本改道用于地景的低风险区域呢？
Such a view would require a corresponding shift in the way US society today views fire, researchers say.
研究者说，这样的观念需要当今美国社会在看待火灾的方式上做出相应的改变。
For one thing, conversations about wildfires need to be more inclusive.
首先，有关火灾的会谈应该更具包容性。
Over the past decade, the focus has been on climate change,
在过去的十年，人们的关注点一直都在气候变化上，
how the warming of the Earth from greenhouse gases is leading to conditions that worsen fires.
即，源于温室气体的地球变暖如何诱发火灾恶化的环境。
While climate is a key element, Moritz says, it shouldn't come at the expense of the rest of the equation.
莫里茨教授说，尽管气候是一个关键因素，但是不能以牺牲其他影响因素为代价。
"The human systems and the landscapes we live on are linked, and the interactions go both ways," he says.
他说：“人类系统与我们赖以生存的地景是相互联系的，而且这种相互联系是双向的”，
Failing to recognize that, he notes, leads to "an overly simplified view of what the solutions might be.
不能认识到这一点就会导致“我们对于可能性解决措施的看法过于简单化。
Our perception of the problem and of what the solution is becomes very limited."
我们对问题的认识以及对问题解决办法的认识变得极其有限。
At the same time, people continue to treat fire as an event that needs to be wholly controlled and unleashed only out of necessity,
与此同时，人们仍旧把火灾视为需要全面控制且只有在必要之时才需要释放的事件，
says Professor Balch at the University of Colorado.
科罗拉多大学的鲍尔奇教授说。
But acknowledging fire's inevitable presence in human life
然而，承认火灾在人类生活中的必然存在这一态度，
is an attitude, crucial to developing the laws, policies, and practices that make it as safe as possible, she says.
对于制定确保火灾尽可能安全的法律、政策以及惯例才是至关重要的，她如是说道。
"We've disconnected ourselves from living with fire," Balch says.
鲍尔奇教授说，“我们已经把我们自己与火灾剥离开来，
"It is really important to understand and try and tease out what is the human connection with fire today."
理解并尽力梳理人类当今与火灾的关系至关重要。
