Strategies of wildfire prevention, detection, and suppression have varied over the years, and international wildfire management experts encourage further development of technology and research.

One of the more controversial techniques is controlled burning, which is permitting or even igniting smaller fires to minimize the amount of flammable material available for a potential wildfire.

Now most of us have no intention of setting a fire that could burn hundreds of homes, millions of acres of forest and affecting thousands of lives.

Each year, however, we learn of devastating wildfires caused by careless behavior, below are way you could start a wildfire and ways you can prevent them.

Examples of ways YOU could unintentionally start a wildfire 1. unattended debris burning 2. equipment fires such as from lawnmowers, ATVs, power equipment 3. smoking 4. unattended campfires 5. children playing with matches or lighters 6. fireworks

But YOU can prevent wildfires from happening. Here's the "Get Your Smokey On" Wildfire Pledge 1. Use caution and common sense before lighting any fire 2. Understand that any fire I or my friends create could become a wildfire 3. Understand and practice proper guidelines whenever I or my friends create a fire outdoors. 4. Never, ever leave any fire unattended 5. Make sure any fire that I or my friends create is properly and completely extinguish before moving on 6. Properly extinguish and discard of smoking materials 7. Be aware of my surroundings and careful when operating equipment during periods of dry or hot weather 8. Speak up and step in when I see someone in danger of starting a wildfire