Fire has become a large part of my life. I work for a forest and fire science non-profit organization. I enjoy backpacking through snag forest habitats. I spend much of my time thinking about how wildfire shapes forests, shrublands, and other wildlife habitat—and how we can better coexist with it. Wild ecosystems evolved with fire of varying intensities. Low-, moderate-, and high-intensity fire create different habitats and successional conditions across fire-adapted landscapes. It’s well-known that fire is an essential natural process.
But fire has become part of my life in another way, too. Years ago, I evacuated Estes Park, Colorado, during the East Troublesome Fire when it abruptly crossed the Continental Divide and raced toward the community. I remember dark red skies in the middle of the afternoon and sitting in gridlocked evacuation traffic, knowing a fast-moving fire was somewhere behind me. I remember the uncertainty of not knowing what my community would look like when I returned.
