Wildfires are ravaging forests set aside to soak up greenhouse gases

A firefighter in an area burned by the Bootleg fire near Paisley, Ore., last month.Credit…Kristina Barker for The New York Times The wildfires in the American West are burning vast expanses of specially protected forests — those that are part of carbon-offset projects meant to counterbalance the carbon dioxide pollution being pumped into the atmosphere read more Wildfires are ravaging forests set aside to soak up greenhouse gases