Fire lab scientist says we're still not doing enough to prevent massive wildfires: "We're definitely part of the problem"
CBSN
Tucked beneath snow-capped mountains in Montana, the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory is unlike any other lab in the country. It's where scientists are starting fires to better understand how they burn — and how to manage them.
The U.S. Forest Service built the fire sciences lab in 1960, inspired by a forest fire that killed 13 firefighters. The facility includes a 66-foot-high combustion chamber that allows for intense burn tests in controlled conditions. Today, about 80 employees are carrying on that mission of wildfire research, and keep coming back to one controlling principle.
"We're definitely part of the problem," said fire scientist and lab leader Mark Finney.
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