ScienceDaily: Forest composition, ground cover and topography are the best predictors of forest fire severity in the Western U.S., according to Penn State physical geographers who also see that the long history of fire exclusion on federal lands leads to uncharacteristically severe burns and potentially changes the dynamics of forests and their recovery.
A hunter's illegal campfire in Stanislaus National Forest adjacent to Yosemite National Park started what would become the Rim fire, the third largest fire...