Popular Mechanics

A few years ago we were approached by the National Geographic for an article they were doing on wildfires in the Western United States. They wanted to include a side-bar section on technology, mapping, remote sensing, and wildfires. I was stoked about this because it meant I got to round up the graphics, write a little blurb, and even get my name on that sidebar. We went through all that effort only to have Nat. Geographic come back and say, "We don't have room for that sidebar story. Sorry." Bummer.




Well, we were approached by Popular Mechanics recently, but the topic of their article will be "Mega-Fires." They want graphics and charts showing trends in fire activity in the U.S., whether # of fires and/or severity of those wildfires. They also wanted examples of situations where prescribed fires impacted the spread and severity of wildfires that subsequently burned over the same area. I threw together some examples of the Rodeo-Chediski fire from 2002 (what you see above). It burned nearly 500,000 acres -- that's what I'd legitimately call a "mega-fire." We'll see if this graphic assignment actually goes anywhere this time.