I study forests and fire 🔥. Thus, climate too. Professor at Western Colorado University.https://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.social/post/3muiv3btits2pOur new paper asks the question: is there any precedent for recent, high-severity fires that have removed >100,000 acres of forests from northern New Mexico? Based on the locations of trees that recorded surface fires over the prior 500 years, the answer is, statistically speaking, "not a chance". [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Sep 2026 02:26 +0000at://did:plc:ydmziqo7ba4ah6cvawmjjv3s/app.bsky.feed.post/3muiv3btits2phttps://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.social/post/3mt3aue7jjk2tOur new paper assesses relationships between wildfire rate of spread, area burned, and severity in western + boreal North American conifer forests 2012-2023. Take home message in the title: faster--> bigger--> more severe. With @grumpyunclesean.bsky.social, @jessforplanet.bsky.social and more! 🔥🧪🌍 https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.aeg580214 Aug 2026 22:54 +0000at://did:plc:ydmziqo7ba4ah6cvawmjjv3s/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt3aue7jjk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.social/post/3miejpjgxvc2dNice article from CBC featuring our recent research findings relating snowpack to fire severity. More important than how much area burns, is how it burns. 🔥🧪🌎 @grumpyunclesean.bsky.social https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/snowpack-wildfires-9.714718931 Mar 2026 15:49 +0000at://did:plc:ydmziqo7ba4ah6cvawmjjv3s/app.bsky.feed.post/3miejpjgxvc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.social/post/3lzx6spj3ac26Postfire landscapes of the 2025 Deer Creek fire, Colorado-Utah border, USA.29 Sep 2025 04:37 +0000at://did:plc:ydmziqo7ba4ah6cvawmjjv3s/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzx6spj3ac26https://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.social/post/3lvegx7f7r22jThough this is not a tree-ring fire scar, for #firescarfriday here is an interesting pic of landscape burn severity patterns from the 2025 Rabbit Creek Fire (DA-007) in the Yukon Territory.01 Aug 2025 20:01 +0000at://did:plc:ydmziqo7ba4ah6cvawmjjv3s/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvegx7f7r22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.social/post/3ltl6tum7lk27Our new research highlights the extent that aspen stands may act as a firebreak, slowing or stopping fire. Applications for land management and implications for fire-driven conifer-to-aspen forest conversion. Thanks @grumpyunclesean.bsky.social for the summary below. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70061 [contains quote post or other embedded content]10 Jul 2025 01:35 +0000at://did:plc:ydmziqo7ba4ah6cvawmjjv3s/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltl6tum7lk27https://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.social/post/3lpcf3tteok2hWhy do fire scars form more on the leeward or uphill sides of trees? For #firescarfriday here's a little time lapse video showing the increased residence time of flame, and thus increased heating and potential cambial injury, in the eddy of air in the lee of this long leaf pine. Florida, USA, 2025.16 May 2025 15:52 +0000at://did:plc:ydmziqo7ba4ah6cvawmjjv3s/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpcf3tteok2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.social/post/3lm3uo6mt5c2rHands off Gunnison Colorado! #handsoff05 Apr 2025 21:26 +0000at://did:plc:ydmziqo7ba4ah6cvawmjjv3s/app.bsky.feed.post/3lm3uo6mt5c2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.social/post/3llyfw4h3pc2lFlaming fire scars at the base of a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) in the Red Hills of Florida USA. 04/02/25. Interesting how intensely these can burn once they get going. #firescarfriday04 Apr 2025 12:24 +0000at://did:plc:ydmziqo7ba4ah6cvawmjjv3s/app.bsky.feed.post/3llyfw4h3pc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/coopecology.bsky.social/post/3ljamtoaeg224Faster burning fires not only burn disproportionately large areas, but they also burn more severely. Extreme fire spread events (just the top 3%) accounted for a third of the total area burned, but half of the total area burned at high severity--setting the stage for long-term forest loss. 🧪🌎🔥 [contains quote post or other embedded content]28 Feb 2025 14:34 +0000at://did:plc:ydmziqo7ba4ah6cvawmjjv3s/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljamtoaeg224