forest thinning

There’s a few places where the Spokane fires didn’t burn quite so hot or quite so fast. Officials with the Washington state Department of Natural Resources say that’s because trees in these areas had been thinned. That helps make a forest ecosystem healthier.

Scientists are studying old wildfires to find what forest treatments slowed the flames – and what treatments didn’t work so well. Researchers are looking closely at the Schneider Springs fire, the largest wildfire in Washington in 2021.