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Tree scars reveal how wildfires in centuries past differed from today

Burn marks left on trees show that fires occurred frequently in North America from 1750 to 1880, but they tended to be less severe than modern fires and may have even been beneficial to forests

By Taylor Mitchell Brown

30 January 2025

Fire scars on a giant sequoia tree in California

David McNew/Getty Images

Scars on trees left by fires hundreds of years ago are helping scientists understand past wildfire trends across North America and giving clues to how blazes might unfold with further climate change.

Fire scars are small wounds made when fires burn near trees but don’t kill them. They provide rich details about past wildfires and their underlying causes, says at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

“For dendrochronologists examining fire scars, every…

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