Clearing out the Clinch River Valley

The transcript describes the displacement of generations of natives from the Clinch River Valley. Their homes and lands, owned for generations, are being abandoned and transformed into a lake. Even the deceased are relocated to new graveyards. The fields are burned, and homes are razed to prepare the land for submersion under water.

How are the abandoned homes described in the text?

What is the purpose of reducing the land by fire as mentioned in the text?