"A Sea Of Sagebrush Disappears, Making Way For Fire-Prone Cheatgrass"

"It may seem, to anyone who has driven long stretches of highway across the West, that there is plenty — maybe even more than enough — sagebrush. Sagebrush once covered 250 million acres of western North America, but today that ecosystem is half the size it once was and it's burning more frequently.

Jon Griggs has been running the Maggie Creek Ranch southwest of Elko, Nev., for almost 30 years.

In 2007, wildfire tore through thousands of acres and destroyed several ranch buildings. The wind howled. The sky was orange, and Griggs couldn't see more than a dozen yards in front of him with all the smoke."

Ashley Ahearn reports for NPR May 30, 2019.