Are America’s wild horses the answer to wildfires? – a photo essay

One man is on a mission to promote the grazing habits of feral herds as a way to stop extreme blazes from starting and spreading

Since moving to a remote mountain region just south of Interstate 5 on the Oregon-California border in 2014, William Simpson, 70, has assumed responsibility for the care of 120 wild horses that roam his land. He has also adopted 60 more as part of an effort to study the effect that grazing has on managing grass, brush and other fuel for wildfires in the face of increasingly extreme blazes.

I started watching the horses and seeing what they were doing," says Simpson. They were managing the fuel."

Wild horses roam Simpson's land near the Oregon-California border