The Merced Sun-Star ran a very good piece Saturday on fire in Yosemite and the National Park Service’s use of wildland fires to preserve the natural balance within Yosemite.
mercedsunstar.com: “From the cabin of a helicopter that hovered over a forest, National Park fire chief Kelly Martin studied the serrated orange flames that danced across fallen pine trees.
The 20-acre blaze, dubbed the Babcock Fire after a nearby lake, was nearly burnt out, despite a few hot spots that billowed smoke.‘So much more needs to burn,’ Martin sighed, slumping back into her seat as the chopper continued its biweekly journey 1,000 feet above a landscape that rises and falls like huge green ocean waves.”
There’s even a video with Adrienne Freeman talking about fire in the park.