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Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY-4h ago

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The U.S. Forest Service team that arrived in the Santa Fe National Forest April 6 had a plan. They would set a small fire and burn away accumulated brush that might fuel a more destructive blaze. Such controlled burns are a key tool in minimizing the risk of raging wildfires, and the Forest Service reported success in 99.84% of its prescribed fires.

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But on this day, the team’s time-tested plans and near-perfect track record meant nothing.

Years of drought and hot, windy conditions had sucked moisture from the trees, decaying pine needles and fallen limbs. Logs that typically would have been soaked with water from the previous winter’s snowpack…