One overarching goal of United States fire management focuses on fostering human populations who can 'adapt' to wildfire as an unavoidable, reoccurring process operating in the landscapes where they live. The goal of creating 'fire adapted communities' is generally taken to mean that human populations can effectively prepare for, respond to and recover from wildfire events by reducing significant losses to important values, minimizing the need for suppression resources, and allowing fire to play a natural role in wildland ecosystems.