A few summers ago I had the opportunity to work as a research
technician on a crew for an OSU grad student. The purpose of the project was to
correlate tree mortality due to mountain pine beetle and its effects, if any,
on fire severity. Our duty was to hike around the Three Sisters Wilderness and
collect as much data as possible by setting up plot surveys in relation to
LIDAR data on the Pole Creek fire area.
Many hours were spent trudging around the forest in
conditions ranging from thick brambly jackstraw to arid charred landscapes of
black tree skeletons as far as the eye can see. Some areas of the burn were
mildly scorched by the fire while small patches mere meters away had been
completely decimated. Some areas had substrate charred so deep that new streams
formed from snowmelt had carved pathways throughout the tree stand and washed
out tons of ash downhill.
Being in this position allowed me to have a new perspective
of wildfire and appreciate the diversity of conditions throughout. This
experience showed me that there is a peculiar beauty in the nature of wildfire
and much to be appreciated from a natural resource standpoint.
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