The Llanos of the Orinoco River is a vast and unique biodiverse area in northern South America, covered by mosaics of various ecosystems, such as savanna, wetlands, and different forest types, on infertile soils. Here, we highlight fire’s critical and complex role in shaping the Llanos ecosystems, underscoring how fire regimes impact landscape dynamics, biodiversity, and carbon storage. Fire promotes the survival of fire-adapted C4 grasses with regrowth capacity and pyrophytic trees with fire-resistant bark and enlarged belowground structures. Periodic fires help preserve the savanna’s grass-dominated landscapes but pose challenges to forests, which are crucial for carbon sequestration. However, some fire regimes may enhance forest cover in savannas, pointing to a complex interaction of factors beyond fire. Climate change may alter carbon assimilation and vegetation recovery. On the other hand, land-use changes, including agricultural expansion and intensified livestock farming, could diminish fire occurrence, threatening biodiversity. This management dilemma requires balancing fire’s ecological advantages in savannas with its forest risks, aiming for a strategy that integrates biodiversity preservation with carbon sequestration efforts and a long history of traditional fire management from pre-Columbian times. Despite the Llanos’ economic marginality, deforestation, ecosystem fragmentation, and inadequate fire management remain critical environmental threats.