Fire rolled across dry grass in what Katie MacKendrick called a beautiful burn.
The bright flames slowly died out as about two dozen people gathered around the dark, raw patches of exposed earth, the result of a day’s work.
MacKendrick, an ecologist, watched from a soaked path at the fire’s edge, radio strapped to her chest, overseeing the prescribed burn — an intentionally set, low-intensity fire that keeps trees and shrubs from growing into the dense brush that fuels wildfires…