Data from the blaze in Utah could improve models of how wildfire smoke spreads.
Sometime in late June, if all goes to plan, a helicopter will hover above a thickly forested slope in Utah and set it ablaze. The goal is to clear out dead conifer trees to allow quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) to regain a foothold in this high-altitude national forest. But the blaze could also help scientists better understand wildfires.
A new restoration project proposed by Manti-La Sal National Forest will strip dead and diseased trees from a swath of Utah about the size of Bryce Canyon National Park.
The idea is to take out the most volatile fuel for potential wildfires which have grown in size, frequency and cost to fight.
With the wildfire season already under way in British Columbia and Alberta, Environment Canada is predicting a long, hot summer to come.
The wildfire threat has already forced evacuations in northwestern Alberta and central British Columbia, and the preliminary outlook for this summer points to worsening conditions, said David Phillips, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s senior climatologist.