After the Fires

Only recently, the Forest Service allowed the public back into some areas scorched by wildfires this summer.  On Saturday, that girl and I drove to the mountains above Lincoln so we could directly survey where the Arrastra Creek and Park Creek fires clawed through the forests and scaled up the steep mountainsides.  Alongside the road, long before we reached the black trees and understories of ash, we drove past huge decks of trees cut and stacked as part of the firefighting and clean-up effort.

Climbing in elevation, we soon reached areas touched by fire.  For the most part, firefighters managed to contain the fire to the north side of the road we used to access the forest.  Fortunately, this flank of the fire never experienced a blowup.  While some areas alongside the road saw both the entire understory and canopy blackened, much of the immediate landscape held patchworks of green understory and trees untouched by flame. 

The higher forests and rocky inclines above, however, experienced Hell on Earth.  Fire, uplifted into those trees, bellowed through them, scorching every living thing, high and low.  I tried to capture images of the devastation, but fresh snow overwhelmed and defined the landscape (as snow does all landscapes).

The fire burned right through the upper section of Arrastra Creek—a run of creek defined by huge boulders, white cascades, and clear pools.  The heavily timbered notch in which Arrastra Creek flows survived fairly well.  We could see where firefighters downed trees and cleared brush to starve the fire there.  I captured an image of the creek and have posted it here.

Almost immediately after leaving Arrastra Creek, we entered into forests and mountainscapes untouched by fire.  We soon found ourselves in a normal autumn highlighted by high elevation snow.  Both that girl and I thought our drive back down the far side of the mountains was one of the loveliest we have had this year.

I thought about California as we stopped to survey an expansive view of the mountains and watch the clouds pouring in over us.  October is a bad fire month down there.  This year has been devastating.

I hope their fortune changes soon.

--Mitchell Hegman