Eyes on Earth Episode 124 – Mapping Fires in Utah

In this episode of Eyes on Earth, we talk to forest ecologist Jim Lutz about the effort to map fires in Utah. Fire research in the West is dominated by the study of large fires, but the forests in Utah are different. Utah typically does not have a lot of large fires as other western states do. So to better understand the differences that the specific Utah vegetation types have in their response to fire, a fire atlas for the state was developed. This data helps inform land managers about the implications for forest management and for prescribed fire planning.