Fire managers felt pressure to “do something” to stop the spread of the Ranch Fire, attempting a hastily planned burnout along a bulldozer fireline. But this action contradicted the advice from Forest Service risk management experts who warned that aggressive firefighting tactics had low probabilities of success given record-level fuel dryness at the time.

Check out the Story Map below to explore the record-breaking Ranch and River Fires that burned across 459,123 acres mostly in the Mendocino National Forest in California. Just start scrolling.