Michael Paul wrote:
"BB" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 09 Nov 2003 17:25:10 GMT, Michael Paul wrote:


it will take years for the area to rebuild, but in only a few days signs
of life are returning.

The recovery after a fire can be pretty amazing.

We had some intense fires here in Los Alamos, NM in 2000. The most
severely burnt areas started sprouting aspen and oak in 2002. Still,
the view from my back porch will be of blackened ponderosa pine for the
next 10y or so.

Expect bad erosion problems in the burned areas. Some of our trails
washed out with the first of many flash floods and may never be rebuilt.

The good news is...

This is a great time to get trail users in the area to really think
about trail building. Many (most?) trails, especially ones that have
been around for decades, aren't well routed. Now's your chance to
re-route those erosion prone stretches. Since 2000, there's been many
miles of totally new trails built in the area, many more miles of trail
refurbished and rerouted.

At least here in Los Alamos, the shock/stress of going through a big
fire and mass evacuation seemed to bond the community. There was a
sense of volunteerism to get into the burnt forest and to 'do
something'. We were lucky to direct this energy into erosion prevention
and trail building.

Good luck to those in S. CA!

Mike Johnson
Los Alamos, NM