My town is bordered by forest; twice I’ve watched those forests burn. Among the chaos I’ve met unsung heroes—wildland firefighters who brave smoke & flame to protect communities in their path. Arriving under a shroud of darkness & leaving weeks later with little fanfare or recognition, they work in the shadow of anonymity, sacrificing family time, health and even their lives for strangers who will never know their names.
Firefighters are silhouetted against the glow of a night burnout operation on the Thompson Ridge Fire, NM. Firefighters executed the burnout to protect the old-growth trees and historic structures on the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
A firefighter is dwarfed by an ancient Ponderosa Pine tree he has been entrusted to protect from a raging forest fire. Between heavy logging practices, aggressive fire suppression strategies, and the impacts of a warming climate, old-growth trees like this one have become increasingly rare in our western forests.
