How COVID-19 will change the way we fight wildfires: Prepare for the return of the Smokey Bear method as social distancing prevents firefighters from using more modern strategies

As the Sawtooth Fire raged across the steep, rugged terrain of Arizona’s Tonto National Forest in the final days of May, the firefighting community watched with intense interest. Not only was the blaze the first major wildfire of the season, but it was the first fire of its size since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.