Fire on Trails

[Irulan]

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.

the stats I have read have less than 20 trees per acre.

[katherine]

I went for a run this morning, and wait for it, it RAINED!
For about 10 minutes, but you know we'll take what we can get!