Wildfire Composition

[19Mateo83]

I love this concept, you have done a fantastic job of capturing the natural life cycle of a forest. Well done! I look forward to seeing this one’s progress as life returns to the forest.

 

[doc spring _work]

This Is very thought provoking, reminds me of many of the areas I have lived where fires ripped through, I find often junipers are the lone survivors of these scenes, then a huge deadwood section would form and slowly (over the course of 5- 10 years) the char would be swallowed up by the tree again, always jarring to revisit these fire sites from my childhood only to see no signs of the blaze except a small scar at the base, not something one would notice if they weren't searching.. might should consider recreating some of those scenes from my childhood... That'll have to wait tho, to many trees are coming my way as it is

 

[Michael P]

Dynamic and fascinating! Please keep the updates coming.

 

[Tieball]

Creative excellence.

 

[Tieball]

Ecological Succession

A new cohort has established. Noble fir. From cones collected in less-burned areas of the Nakia Creek Fire.

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Container is burnt cedar wood with 1/4” screen on the bottom.
Substrate is fir bark, pumice, lava rock, sand, and ash.

Fabulous composition, container and regrowth new-beginnings. Excellent execution on details. Perfect bonsai pot.

 

[penumbra]

Certainly food for thought.

 

[queenofsheba52]

Somber

Waiting

Hope

 

[Cruiser]

Thanks for the comments, Everyone.

This Is very thought provoking, reminds me of many of the areas I have lived where fires ripped through, I find often junipers are the lone survivors of these scenes, then a huge deadwood section would form and slowly (over the course of 5- 10 years) the char would be swallowed up by the tree again, always jarring to revisit these fire sites from my childhood only to see no signs of the blaze except a small scar at the base, not something one would notice if they weren't searching.. might should consider recreating some of those scenes from my childhood... That'll have to wait tho, to many trees are coming my way as it is

I ran saw for a fire crew based out of Ogden back in 2013.
The juniper out there are quite memorable. Beautiful. Once they caught fire most would flare up instantly. Like match-sticks!

 

[doc spring _work]

Thanks for the comments, Everyone.


I ran saw for a fire crew based out of Ogden back in 2013.
The juniper out there are quite memorable. Beautiful. Once they caught fire most would flare up instantly. Like match-sticks!

Not sure if I was in Ogden for that burn I know the hill over here catches fire every few years tho... I was more so thinking of Lincoln national Forest, ya know smokey bear? My hometown is smack dab up there, as you go down the mountain all that remains are cactus and junipers (new Mexico by white sands)

 

[Tieball]

Not sure if I was in Ogden for that burn I know the hill over here catches fire every few years tho... I was more so thinking of Lincoln national Forest, ya know smokey bear? My hometown is smack dab up there, as you go down the mountain all that remains are cactus and junipers (new Mexico by white sands)

Does a burned out forest have the “just-burned-scent” for many years?

 

[Cruiser]

Does a burned out forest have the “just-burned-scent” for many years?

No, but it may depends on if things are still burning, where the fire was, what burned, and climatic conditions.
As far as I can tell, that smell mostly comes from airborne ash and smoke. I’ve been cruising fire salvage sales lately (Pacific Northwest), places that burned less than a year ago. They do not have the campfire smell anymore.

 

[Tieball]

No, but it may depends on if things are still burning, where the fire was, what burned, and climatic conditions.
As far as I can tell, that smell mostly comes from airborne ash and smoke. I’ve been cruising fire salvage sales lately (Pacific Northwest), places that burned less than a year ago. They do not have the campfire smell anymore.

Thanks for a thorough reply.

 

[doc spring _work]

Does a burned out forest have the “just-burned-scent” for many years?

Again like cruiser said it depends, in some area dispute new growth there is a kind of earthy smoke for just a year, not typically any longer, only areas I've seen maintain their "burn smell" is pine forests where the sap in those trees explode from high heat (occasionally) and it's more of a sappy pine smell then a fire smell

 

[Wulfskaar]

This is awesome!

 

[Tieball]

Again like cruiser said it depends, in some area dispute new growth there is a kind of earthy smoke for just a year, not typically any longer, only areas I've seen maintain their "burn smell" is pine forests where the sap in those trees explode from high heat (occasionally) and it's more of a sappy pine smell then a fire smell

Thank you for the reply. I don’t have burned forests around me. But I do have a burn pit for burning branches that break off and fall with heavy winter snows and ice storms….mostly Eastern White Pine. It seems to me that, in my case, it’s the wet ashes that have a scent that lingers for quite some time. And the, every time it rains that scent is reactivated once again for some time.

 

[doc spring _work]

Thank you for the reply. I don’t have burned forests around me. But I do have a burn pit for burning branches that break off and fall with heavy winter snows and ice storms….mostly Eastern White Pine. It seems to me that, in my case, it’s the wet ashes that have a scent that lingers for quite some time. And the, every time it rains that scent is reactivated once again for some time.

Yeah that'll happen! But in nature all the burns quickly get consumed by plants that sweep in, from the pines (which often use fire to spread their seeds) to the fire reliant shrubs that quickly return, within a year it's bright green on the ground, the only signs that remain are exposed bits of earth and trees that did burn completely or got significant burn scars.

The plants basically eat up all the nutrients in those ashes responsible for the smokey smell. So if you have an environment that manages to stay stagnant maybe you'll still have that smell, but a lot of forests rely on fires as a part of their grow cycles and quickly recover

 

[ShadyStump]

Two simple factors to recall here is that your fire pit gets refreshed with new ash many times a year, vs a forest fire can only burn once; and when it rains after a forest fire most of the ash gets washed away and dispersed fairly quickly, while your fire pit collects the rain and ash in a depression.

 

[queenofsheba52]

So may interesting facts here! I live in Michigan and we haven't had a forest fire (that I know of) for many years. The wild fires in the West and North West, and now in Hawaii, just break my heart. I know some fire is necessary for the forest health, but I hate to see them on the news, raging on for weeks and months.

 

[doc spring _work]

So may interesting facts here! I live in Michigan and we haven't had a forest fire (that I know of) for many years. The wild fires in the West and North West, and now in Hawaii, just break my heart. I know some fire is necessary for the forest health, but I hate to see them on the news, raging on for weeks and months.

A lot of the massive fires come because we don't perform control burns.

We do everything we can to prevent fires leading to massive amount of fuel building up, so when a burn happens (and it will eventually) it'll be significantly worse.

Very unfortunate that our forests are put in danger by our actions, (from letting livestock into the forests, to preventing healthy burns)

 

[ShadyStump]

Not sure I agree that livestock are necessarily an issue, not when using reasonable grazing practices anyway. They actually help keep underbrush clear, eliminating excess fuel. Part of the issue leading to the fires in California years past was they outlawed clearing underbrush in rural areas, something about chipmunk habitat or something. 100 feet of clear defensible space around your house is step one in mitigating wildfire damage, and they made it illegal.

I blame tourists. Everyone wants to keep the fires down so the tourists can have pretty views, but then, like you said, the fuel just builds up until it's one big tinderbox.

We're bordering on politicizing the thread though. Lots of opinions, so let's watch it.