After the fire

[climbant]

Crews are continuing to cut/improve fire lines. Hotspots still exist in some of the heavier fuels but the fire shouldn't get any larger. You may still see some smoke over the next couple of days.

[bluerail]

........hope enough people saw that, lost the post, pm'd to a few

[Stoneman1]

Thank you for the update!

[HikeUp]

........hope enough people saw that, lost the post, pm'd to a few

Very useful. Thanks? lol

[arocknoid]

Thank you, Ghostly Ninja Master of the Trails!


8-}

[arocknoid]

I put together alot of info about recovery from wildfires, with a cornucopia of findings related to the Cedar Fire and the McNally Fire.

But it is grim, and weighty, so I'll put up just a little, here, with a few notes.

Keep in mind that when a climax community is destroyed, e.g. mixed conifer forest is incinerated, the *subsequent* climax community may turn out to be very different than the one it replaces. The time scales of any trajectory and outcome don't correspond very well with human years and lifespans.
c'est la vie

youtube vid of Calfire @ 2003 Cedar Fire, restoration; *Note the year*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR0d5EJ_8e0

http://interwork.sdsu.edu/fire/resource ... forest.htm

http://www.americanforests.org/magazine ... -a-forest/

Fire driven alien plant invasion:
http://www.werc.usgs.gov/ProductDetails.aspx?ID=4638


--Many Areas burned in the Cedar Fire remained closed til 2004

--"The October 2003 Cedar Fire caused 98% pine mortality....

"Vegetation changes in the first four years following a large, severe crown fire in Coulter pine and mixed conifer forests are described.

However, we found the following in the first post-fire year (2004):

Almost all pines and other conifer trees were killed by the fire. The greater the fire severity in a location the higher the mortality. Most trees measured in our study area were Coulter Pine but there were also Jeffrey Pine, Incense Cedar and White Fir. Coulter Pine is partially serotinous meaning that some cones on some trees are sealed with resin that is melted by fire, releasing seeds. Only five pine seedlings were found in our plots, or less than 20 seedlings per hectare.
Most oak trees were killed above-ground but were resprouting from the base – the individual survived the fire but the mighty oak was replaced by a few stems. Resprouting was unrelated to characteristics of the environment or the fire.
Shrub species found in chaparral patches and under forest were regenerating vigorously by resprouting and/or establishing thousands of seedlings.
Over 100 species of native wildflowers (annual and perennial) flowered prolifically in 2004, in spite of low rainfall, producing a typical flush of post-fire biodiversity. Non-native plant species were not very abundant or diverse. " (from next citation)

We predict that severely burned forest in CRSP will be dominated by shrubs and oaks for decades to centuries. The expanding cover of these species may prevent pine seedling survival even if pines can disperse seed to these areas naturally.

This was prior to the reforestation project in the vid, which will continue thru 2017

http://www.bio.sdsu.edu/Pub/franklin/la ... n.Cuyamaca



http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/l ... g-apparent

http://stewardsofthesequoia.org/forest_ ... ation.html

http://www.pnas.org/content/109/9/E535

kind regards,
arocknoid
who has many photos of the Cedar and McNally Fire areas in succeeding years...not so joyous

[ishootstars]

I have a commercial drone that I use for work and i'd be more than willing to take it up and get some aerial photos as soon as the trails open. If I take off from Wellman Divide I can make a small loop around the tahquitz/skunk cabbage area before im bingo on the battery. If anyone is interested in going up with me I could use a spotter.

[bluerail]

hikeup, pm'd you

just gun shy from previous problems...

[zippetydude]

I have a commercial drone that I use for work and i'd be more than willing to take it up and get some aerial photos as soon as the trails open. If I take off from Wellman Divide I can make a small loop around the tahquitz/skunk cabbage area before im bingo on the battery. If anyone is interested in going up with me I could use a spotter.

Wow, that would be so much fun. Post or pm me in advance!

z

[tramtim]

As Florian said, yes we had a area that is still smoldering around Divide Peak. This morning a fire crew of about 40 moved into Round Valley to work on hot spots and finish the line to the North. We’ll be seeing and smelling smoke fore quite sometime as thing dry out and burn out.

I was told that State Parks will reevaluate everything next Tuesday and hopefully open some of the areas, but I do think it will be sometime before most of the backcountry is open.

Tim