Tens of millions of people across the West are facing the reality of life in a flammable landscape. When we hear about communities getting wiped out by wildfires, what’s actually going on? Why is it happening? And, what can we do about it?

• Jack Cohen is a retired U.S. Forest Service research physical scientist who focusing on the combustion and heat transfer of wildland fire

• Sheryl Gunn is a silviculturist with the Lolo National Forest

• Alex Metcalf is a social scientist focused on the broad field of human dimensions on natural resources and a professor at the University of Montana.

• Libby Metcalf is a social scientist specializing in the way humans interact with their natural environment and a professor at the University of Montana.