Sweat dripped down my spine as I hefted a heavy drip torch with gloved hands. Everything was hot — the sun filtering through the ponderosa pines, the fire at my feet, the long-sleeved shirt and long ...

On a warm, dry day last week, prescribed burn coordinator Zachary O’Donnell ignited his drip torch and passed it to the landowner. They stood on the edge of a forest, somewhere between Marion and Old ...