BURN, SCAR

The practice of setting small burns to clear ecosystems of overgrowth by prescribed fire is a critical tool for climate resiliency and forest health. But in 2022, a burn set by the U.S. Forest Service in northern New Mexico escaped its fire lines, spiraling out of control to become the largest wildfire in the state’s history. Weaving together the stories of locals struggling to rebuild and the Forest Service’s efforts to resume stewardship after tragedy, burn, scar becomes a personal, nuanced story of conviction and connection to the land.