The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Redtinged pine trees along forest roads have forest watchers concerned about some new blight or damage from wildfires. But the red cast to the pine trees is expected in the aftermath of prescribed fire.

According to Fire Specialist Mark Rapp, during the first few weeks after a wet spring burn people venturing to the forests will see blackened tree boles, small dead trees, blackened shrub stems, and lots of red needles caused by fire scorch and heat pulses. The red needles do not always mean the trees are dead.

Trees with 15 to 20 percent green needles remaining will usually recover completely.

Controlled burns are used to reintroduce a natural process to forests that has been missing for over 80 years.

Eighty years of fire exclusion have resulted in hazardous buildup of fuels - dead and live shrubs, thickets of small trees, thick mats of pine needles which stifle forest wildflowers. Controlled burning in early spring allows fire specialists to safely remove some of this fuel buildup, and start the forest on the road back to a more natural condition.

Fire provides a natural way to thin forests. Even low intensity fires with two-to-four-foot flame lengths will kill some small trees. Occasionally large trees will also die, becoming long lasting snags which are so important as homes for wildlife.

About one month after a burn, bracken fern, grasses, and wildflowers will emerge, providing a striking contrast of black and green. Plants in a burned area may bloom earlier than surrounding forest areas because of the warming effect of the blackened surface and may be larger because of nutrients released by fire.

In the first year, new shrubs and small trees will sprout, often profusely. The red cast of needles will begin to dissipate by the following summer and as needles fall they cover the blackened forest floor. Blackened tree boles and shrub stems will still be visible.

By the third year, the blackened tree boles will begin to fade and resume their reddish color and dead stems of small trees and shrubs will begin to fall. Lower limbs of large trees will self prune and drop off, helping fire-proof the trees.

Though three years seems like too long to live with the look of fire, forest professionals note that there is a huge payback. The forest will be healthier, more fire resistant, and naturally thinned without the ground-disturbing effects of logging. The revitalized understory will produce beautiful wildflower displays and new trees with room to grow.

Maret Pajutee is the District Ecologist for the Sisters Ranger District