Fire on Trails

[katherine]

A wildfire has erupted in our local forests, so far no homes or people have been hurt but several beloved local trails are undoubtedly burning. So far the fire is at 5,000 acres and completely uncontained. This is an area with a well developed, popular, extensive trail system, probably the best in Arizona. Who knows how much of our forest we will lose. To put in mildly, this sucks.

[rocknrollgirl]

That is a bummer. We have bad fires around here too, we have had chunks of embers falling on our house before.

[Irulan]

You'll be amazed at how fast the forest recovers in a year or two.

[spokewench]

Yep! It is horrific! I came home from Tucson (where they tell you nothing about other news in the state) and on the way back through Phoenix (21/2 hours away) and could see the horrible plume of smoke from Flagstaff.

My friend was up on the mountain around Shultz Pass on the north side of the mountain; she parked her car where there are great columbines so she could see the flowers, took off on her mountain bike; and then the fire started. They would not let her go back to get to her truck. It is probably gone now! Her son and many friends have been evacauted from one side of the highway. Her house is on the other side of the highway and has not yet been evacuated. My prayers are with her and all those who live out there! As, well as being with the forest. This is some of the most beautiful forest in our area - it is just sickening!

spoke

[katherine]

Oh goodness I hope everyone stays safe, trucks can be replaced, but not friends. This is awful. I hate the thought of the Dry Lake Hills burning.

[Irulan]

The famous Fisher-Williams loop, and the IMBA Epic Loon Lake, both in Idaho, burned in the big fire storms of 2005 and 07. A good portion of the wild land in Idaho burned in 05 and 07. Yes, it's terribly tragic: mismanaged forests (total suppression) combined with drought, plus an ever expanding urban/wildland interface ( read, everyone wants their nice little home in the woods) makes for all sorts of fire tragedy. Forest burn hotter and more severely than if the fires had not been suppressed for 100 years, home get burned, and yes, trail systems get burned up.

The forest has an amazing recovery system. Within 6 months after a severe burn, plants and wildlife return. Within two years, typically the only visible damage is burned snags. The only exception is when a fire is so hot ( from years of suppression) that is sterilizes the ground and makes it void of plant life and prone to severe erosion.

So ya it's a real bummer, but nature has a good way of recovering. As for the rest of it, that's why we buy insurance, and practice keeping a fire perimeter cleared around our houses, right?

[tzvia]

Oh, when I heard, my heart sank. I was out there on an MTB vacation last October and just loved it. I'm glad that no homes have gone up, (that seems to be our MO out here in So.Cal) so I know that feeling. Been lucky, though I live at the base of the Santa monica mountains on a hillside, the fires seem to start west of me and burn west towards the ocean. Fingers crossed that no one gets hurt and that it is put out quickly.

[bmccasland]

Here's a link to the fire information web site - it's the Schultz Fire
http://www.inciweb.org/state/3/
From there, click on the fire name to get more information on that particular fire. The "Unit" column is also clickable, which will just sort fires in that particular National Forest.

The page shows when information was last updated.

[chickabonita]

Sorry to hear about your beloved trails. I know just what you are feeling, here in So Cal we have had our fair share of devastating fires. Irulan is right, the land will heal itself in no time. Try to keep your chin up!

[spokewench]

Sorry to hear about your beloved trails. I know just what you are feeling, here in So Cal we have had our fair share of devastating fires. Irulan is right, the land will heal itself in no time. Try to keep your chin up!

This will not heal within my life span! or probably in quite a few life spans. It is just sickening and still spreading.

One good note, some of the evacuees are back in their homes; and my friend was able to go get her truck and drive it out! The trees were burned on three sides of it!

[bmccasland]

It doesn't help that much of the west is a fire based ecology, including Ponderosa Pine forets. But unfortunatly, we (advanced civilization that we are) have supressed fires for much of the past 50+ years, and a frightening amount of fuel has built up. Or when land management agencies try to do control burns, then nearby people complain about the smoke and make demands to their representatives at the state capitols or to Washington that the fire is put out. So the excess fuel continues to build. I'm making generalizations here, not saying this is what happened in the Schultz fire. It also doesn't help that numbnuts don't make certain that their campfires are out COLD before they leave, which I believe was the cause of this fire.

Early photos of the forests of Arizona show the Ponderosa Pines spaced further apart than they are now. The forests were described as "park like". You could drive a wagon between the trees. Try doing that now. So the periodic fires burned the grasses on the ground and some twigs, but didn't get into the crowns.

Other past fire suppression efforts along with over grazing has allowed more shrubs to grow. So there's been a conversion from a grassland habitat to scrub/shrub - which burns hotter! Ever been around a burning manzanita? It's very hot! Again, old photos show more grasses and less pinyon pine/juniper than are present now, or grasses then / manzanita now.

In general a grass fire burns low and fast as there isn't that much to burn. It's considered a "cool" fire, as usually the top layer of soil and the roots aren't scorched. Hotter fires will actually kill the roots of grasses and other plants, as well as sterilizing the top layer of the soil.

Thus endith today's brief lesson on western ecology.

[bcipam]

I spent last week riding the AZ Trail and Rainbow Rim. On Wednesday we went to the Grand Canyon Lodge and the first thing I noticed was the smoke rising up on the other side of the Canyon. Living in Southern California I knew what that meant. Just know that the earth needs fire at times. It is will clear out overgrowth and cause new things to grow. Generally the spring after a fire is spectacular. That said, fire can be sad... loss of lives, habitate, property, animals etc. I pray the fire fighters keep safe and everything is under control shortly.

[bcipam]

This will not heal within my life span! or probably in quite a few life spans. It is just sickening and still spreading.

One good note, some of the evacuees are back in their homes; and my friend was able to go get her truck and drive it out! The trees were burned on three sides of it!

I live in an area that in 4 years had 3 bad fires (Windy Ridge, Sierra Peak and Santiago wildfires). You will be surprised how the earth recovers. One of my beloved areas, Limestone Canyon, was totally black and barren in 2007, now it's green and lush and for the past 3 years the wildflowers have been beautiful. The trails are better than ever! Oaks are designed to withstand fire as are many native plants. Again fire is nature's way to do alittle spring cleaning. Take heart, the earth will recover. It's the potential loss of life and property that is saddening.

[katherine]

@ Spoke: Like my partner said, No! Not the Inner Basin! I get a lump in my throat every time I think about Lockett Meadow. It's going to be a sad autumn without the trees changing on the Waterline.

The area where the fire started hasn't burned or been thinned in a very long time, it won't likely recover as quickly as it might have if things had been different, the fire burned pretty hot from what I hear. It'll also depend on when the monson rains hit, we get dramatic summer rains and there will likely be some erosion. The area a lot of people are worried about now is known for its beautiful aspen groves, old lovely trees that are luckily slowing the fire, but it may take a very long time for them to recover fully. It's hard to explain how emotionally attached we all are to these mountains.

The good news is many of our trails have so far been spared, it's really miraculous. And due in no small part to the tireless efforts of those fighting the fire.

But, it's really warm today, and the winds are picking up again.

[spokewench]

Yes, the underbrush will come back; but we are talking catastrophic fire here; not burning out the underbrush; these are huge crown fires; with fire suppression for years. Trust me, the north side of Elden burned in '72 and there are still NO ponderosas on that burned out side of the mountain; it is really steep and rugged and not conducive to coming back any time soon.