…In a study published in the journal Science on June 11, Stanford University researchers found that intentionally burning 500,000 acres of conifer forests in California every year could reduce wildfire smoke pollution overall by about 10% over a decade. “This study highlights that yes, prescribed fire is good, but sometimes the benefits take a while,” Marshall Burke, a professor in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford and the senior study author, told SFGATE. The study relied on two decades of satellite measurements of fire severity and smoke particulate matter across California. Reflecting similar findings in previous research, it documented that low-severity wildfires, a stand-in for prescribed burning, can cut the immediate likelihood of future severe wildfires in the same area by 92%. …California burns less than the study’s recommended 500,000 acres in prescribed burns, although the state’s goal is to incinerate about that much fuel every year.