VIDEO: Amidst escalating risks posed by wildfires in the eastern United States, fire researchers at Silas Little Experimental Forest are making significant contributions to better understand the relationship between fuels and the way fires spread across the landscape. With over a century of data for reference and a mature culture of wildland fire management that spans federal and state agencies and private landowners, the Silas Little Experimental Forest is the “model landscape” for scientific fire research. Much of the work has been facilitated by opportunities to conduct management scale prescribed burns where scientists can monitor the ways in which fuel consumption, ember movement and weather conditions influence fire spread. Prescribed fires serve as a critical tool in the mitigation of wildfire intensity and risks posed to communities near forests.