America’s fire spotters aren’t ready to fade away just yet

Wildfires unfold across vast, difficult terrain, in fast-changing conditions and with a frightening amount of random chance. In places like Glacier, officials don’t just put them all out. They must decide, sometimes hour by hour, whether letting a fire burn might provide ecological benefits or whether it is threatening enough lives and property to justify putting firefighters at risk.

New technology aids in these decisions, said Andy Huntsberger, a district fire management officer in the Flathead.

But “it doesn’t replace the human element,” he said.