Fire mitigation is an aspect of mountain living that many home owners are far behind on. This healthy thinning of the forest can help the fight against forest fires and improve overall vegetation and wildlife diversity. In the last 100-150 years, wildfires have been suppressed after the Euro-American settlement to a degree that most forests are overgrown. Now these forests are at high risk for a severe burn. The general goal of fire mitigation is to reduce the available fuel in an area and increase the health of the forest ecosystem.