CBS Professor Stephen Pyne featured in new PBS ‘American Experience’ special

Wildfires burn bright in the history of America.

On Tuesday, February 3rd, a new documentary in PBS’s American Experience series, called “The Big Burn” aired, featuring CBS Professor Stephen Pyne.

The documentary addressed the history of the hundreds of wildfires that raged across the rockies in 1910--the most significant wildfire in American history--and the conservation and regulatory efforts that surrounded it.

Producers of “The Big Burn” relied heavily on Pyne’s book Year of the Fires for background for the documentary, and featured him on-camera.

Pyne’s participation in the PBS series exemplifies the missions of both ASU and CBS--to connect science with society.

The American Experience series is touted as “TV’s most-watched history series”.

Pyne, a former member of the forest fire crew for the north rim of the Grand Canyon and professor at ASU for 30 years, has written extensively about the history of fire.

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