Wildfires have burned millions of acres across the West in 2020, amid record-breaking hot and dry conditions.

Fires have immediate impacts to those who live nearby, by degrading air quality and forcing some people from their homes. But wildfires also have a set of lingering effects, and are intimately connected to the region's water, whether it's by altering floodplains, creating headaches for drinking water providers, or complicating our view of fire as either a restorative or destructive force.

In this series, reporters from across the West explore where water and fire intersect, and what the future has in store.

These stories are part of a series looking at where water and wildfire intersect in the West, produced by KUNC, KJZZ, KHOL, Aspen Public Radio, Wyoming Public Radio, and supported by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation.