Local News
Photo essay: Communities embrace fire to protect against out-of-control blazes
Learn how Roslyn community leaders are utilizing prescribed burns to reduce wildfire risks and protect local forests in this immersive photo essay.
By Alex Brown · 2026-08-23T13:48:42.062Z
Story and photos by Alex Brown ROSLYN, Wash. — In less than an hour, this hillside will be ablaze — sparks flying, smoke swirling, the forest floor turning into a black carpet. That& 8217;s all part of the plan. Here in the small town of Roslyn, Washington, local leaders have embraced prescribed burns as a tool to protect their community from wildfires. They& 8217;re part of a growing effort across the West to empower residents to lead burns on private lands. A century of fire suppression policy has left many forests dense with trees, shrubs, fallen limbs and needles — kindling that can fuel out of control megafires. Low intensity burns conducted under the right conditions can clear out those fuels, sparing mature trees and creating habitat for wildlife. ! Kyle Lapham, who manages the training program with the Washington Department of Natural Resources, looks over a forest parcel with aspiring burn leaders. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1200375 scaled.jpg Kyle Lapham, who manages the training program with the Washington Department of Natural Resources, looks over a forest parcel with aspiring burn leaders. After years of reporting on wildfires, along with several personal brushes with fire as an outdoor enthusiast in the West, Stateline reporter Alex Brown joined Washington state’s burn manager boot camp in 2024 as a way to learn more about fire’s role on the landscape. The course covered everything from the moisture levels in different forest plants to federal clean air regulations related to smoke dispersal. ! Lapham uses a sampling grid to help class members practice calculating different fuel types. Knowledge of vegetation and the amount of moisture it holds is one of many variables that burn leaders must master before determining when and how to start a fire. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1200413 scaled.jpg Lapham uses a sampling grid to help class members practice calculating different fuel types. Knowledge of vegetation and the amount of moisture it holds is one of many variables that burn leaders must master before determining when and how to start a fire. After passing the test at the end of the training class, Brown joined crews assembled to burn a 55 acre parcel laid out by local leaders near Roslyn. It brought together 30 people from multiple fire districts, covering half a dozen organizations. ! Burn leaders conduct a safety briefing before deploying crews to start the burn. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1230939 scaled.jpg Burn leaders conduct a safety briefing before deploying crews to start the burn. ! Crew members prepare their drip torches before starting the burn. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1230492 scaled.jpg Crew members prepare their drip torches before starting the burn. ! A crew member sprays water as the team prepares for the burn. By wetting vegetation in advance, the team aims to prevent the prescribed fire from spreading outside their planned boundaries for the burn. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1230474 scaled.jpg A crew member sprays water as the team prepares for the burn. By wetting vegetation in advance, the team aims to prevent the prescribed fire from spreading outside their planned boundaries for the burn. After the team’s weather reporter gave the all clear, a crew of igniters set a “backing fire,” a preliminary burn that crept slowly against the wind, establishing a black strip between the forest and a dirt road. ! Fire creeps up the hillside in the early stages of the prescribed burn. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1230734 scaled.jpg Fire creeps up the hillside in the early stages of the prescribed burn. By burning the edge of the parcel in advance, the crews created a wider containment line, eliminating the fuels that might allow the fire to spread across the road. Once the “black line” was established, teams fanned out on the hillside to begin the primary burn. ! Crew members use their drip torches to ignite vegetation, advancing through the forest as flames spread behind them. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1230817 scaled.jpg Crew members use their drip torches to ignite vegetation, advancing through the forest as flames spread behind them. ! Flames climb the trunk of a tree as the fire spreads through the forest. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1230640 scaled.jpg Flames climb the trunk of a tree as the fire spreads through the forest. ! A crew member sends an update over the radio amid thick smoke. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1230763 scaled.jpg A crew member sends an update over the radio amid thick smoke. Team leaders stayed in contact over the radio, and some crews positioned uphill put out spot fires caused by falling embers in another area of the forest. By the end of the afternoon, the fire had spread across the parcel, burning shrubs and plants but leaving most of the mature trees unscathed. A few dozen acres at a time, Roslyn leaders are aiming to create a semicircle around the town that will give them a safe place to make a stand if another wildfire approaches. ! A sign in a local bar pays tribute to the firefighters who protect the community. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/IMG 2955 scaled.jpg A sign in a local bar pays tribute to the firefighters who protect the community. Back in town, life went on as usual as a column of smoke floated over the nearby hillside. ! Grass and flowers flourish beneath the charred trunks of trees a few years after a prescribed burn. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1200531 scaled.jpg Grass and flowers flourish beneath the charred trunks of trees a few years after a prescribed burn. Local leaders say the forest is thriving in the areas where they’ve burned. Mature trees, scarred black but still growing, tower over a forest floor that is open and green once again. Roslyn has even turned the burned area into a tourist attraction, recently opening a Forest Resilience Trail that showcases the landscape restored by fire. After witnessing the burn in Roslyn, Brown joined a TREX, or training exchange burn, that brought together fire crews from around the world. Held in Southwest Washington, the burn allowed participants to build contacts in the fire community and try new roles for the first time. The event was hosted by the Mt. Adams Prescribed Burn Association. State leaders say such grassroots organizations are taking the lead on bringing fire to private lands — bringing together local organizations to build resources, manpower and public buy in. ! Crew members disperse through the forest with drip torches, igniting a prescribed burn at a training exercise put on by the Mt. Adams Prescribed Burn Association in Southwest Washington. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1230998 scaled.jpg Crew members disperse through the forest with drip torches, igniting a prescribed burn at a training exercise put on by the Mt. Adams Prescribed Burn Association in Southwest Washington. ! Flames leave behind a black carpet as they spread along the forest floor. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1240134 scaled.jpg Flames leave behind a black carpet as they spread along the forest floor. ! Smoke drifts from smoldering vegetation as the burn continues. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1240165 scaled.jpg Smoke drifts from smoldering vegetation as the burn continues. The burn cleared underbrush and vegetation from the forest floor. Experts say regular, low intensity fires such as this reduce “ladder fuels” that can spread flames into tree canopies and create out of control blazes. ! On a nearby roadside, a sign alerts motorists that the burn is happening. Burn leaders must be careful to plan for community impacts when conducting a burn. At this burn, crew members monitored the road to ensure smoke did not impair visibility. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1240173 scaled.jpg On a nearby roadside, a sign alerts motorists that the burn is happening. Burn leaders must be careful to plan for community impacts when conducting a burn. At this burn, crew members monitored the road to ensure smoke did not impair visibility. Burn leaders face strict air quality regulations designed to protect communities from smoke. ! A lizard looks out from a tree as fire crews walk by. https://michiganadvance.com/wp content/uploads/2026/08/P1240085 scaled.jpg A lizard looks out from a tree as fire crews walk by. Among other challenges, burn leaders say prescribed fires not only protect communities, but also renew habitats where fire has long had a regular presence. Burning, they say, is an act of creation rather than destruction. Editor’s note: This is one of three stories examining efforts to use prescribed burns to fight fire with fire. Read the other parts here https://stateline.org/2026/08/27/learning to burn/ and here https://stateline.org/2026/08/27/this washington town is burning thats the plan/ . Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at abrown@stateline.org . This story was originally produced by Stateline https://stateline.org/2026/08/27/photo essay communities embrace fire to protect against out of control blazes/ , which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Michigan Advance, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c 3 public charity.