Cul-de-Sac Burn Zone Revisited
Last month I posted about a large fire that burned much of the hillside in Cul-de-Sac near the dump. Other obligations kept me from visiting the area as much as I would have liked after the fire, but I have been able to make a few visits to take photos of how the area has progressed after the fire.
The first set of photos is from late March, nineteen days after the fire. Very little regrowth had happened so far, although a few grasses had begun to sprout, probably from roots that survived the fire.
Forty-three days after the fire, in the lower areas of the hills, grasses were growing more and some of the shrubs that were not killed by the fire, like the apple of Sodom in the photos below, were growing new leaves and flowers.
The next day, I took a little more time to explore, taking advantage of the burned area to head towards the top of the peak just to the south of Red Rock. Higher on the slope, there was knee-high grass in abundance, although the walk was still much easier than it will be in a month when the grass is much higher. Most of the grasses were clearly growing from roots that survived the fire, with burned stalks amidst the new growth. Forested pockets remained in some ravine areas, particularly where boulders formed a barrier to the fire. Presumably these pockets make it much easier for animals to recolonize the burned areas. At the very top of the hill, the burned area ends, presumably stopped again by the large boulders.
