Fight fire with fire is a
technique used in
fighting some
wild fires. A wide line is
intentionally burned in a
controlled way, somewhere ahead of a marauding fire and when the fire reaches the line the lack of fuel hopefully stops the wild fire at that line.
"
Fight Fire with Fire" is also used as a
slogan for
prescribed
burning even when there is not an immediate threat of a current wild fire. Prescribed burning reduces the highly flammable plant material there by reducing the chance of future wild fires. It can also be used to
regenerate forests,
grasslands and the
wildlife that depend on them.