A FEW YEARS BACK we visited relatives on their small farm in Vermont. I had never been that far northeast. It was lush and green with healthy woodlands bordering the roads. One night we gathered around a large fire. As folks began heading to bed, I looked back at the fire and asked our cousin, “Aren’t you going to put the fire out?”He replied casually that the fire would die out on its own. Having grown up in the arid West, where historic wildfires now rage year-round, I was astonished at his response. I asked further questions, but the climate ...
