Whether triggered by climate change or normal variability in cycles of temperature and drought, recent wildfires have been some of the most extensive in living memory. With tens of thousands of acres burned, scientists and fire management officials weigh in on the effects of the fires.
It was my first prescribed burn. After weeks of training, and months of anticipation, I was finally on the ground – drip torch in hand – ready to apply fire to restore the mixed pine-hardwood forests at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, on the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest.
