Wildfires along Colorado’s Front Range, long assumed to be intensifying, may not be when understood in historical context before 20th-century firefighting, a new study finds.
The findings could complicate the analysis of whether thick forests should be thinned.
University of Colorado researchers, led by fire ecologist and geography professor Tom Veblen, analyzed 8,000 tree-ring samples, starting in 1996, and concluded that severe fires have been an inherent part of mountain ecosystems.
A journalist and lawyer, Bruce Finley has investigated local, national and international issues with on-site reporting in more than 40 countries. In his position as a staff writer for the Denver Post, he is focusing on environment-related news including water challenges, the oil and gas boom and wildfire.
