The Big Burn

[banjomike]

I was wondering how much of the old burned stumps and scars are left now. It's been a long time since I last went over the Lolo Pass- back in the 60s, when I was going to school in Moscow, I drove the Lolo regularly, and 50 years after the fire, the canyon still looked almost completely burned out except in scattered spots. I once asked a logging student about the fire, and he said it was so hot in the Lolo that the soil was sterilized, and all the natural seeding on the ground and just underneath it was vaporized. The only ash on the ground came from the trees.

It would sure be interesting if you could take some pics as you cruise around to see what it's like 105 years later in those areas.

In contrast, there's a stretch of US 191 along the Gallatin river that cuts into the Yellowstone boundary for a few miles. The hills there were completely burned in the 1988 fires, but over the years, new growth timber has come back strong. That fire must not have been as hot as in the Lolo. A 3 million acre burn in 36 hours is beyond my comprehension.

It sure is sobering. I've seen the hills above Boise all on fire, and 3 fires in Salmon, and some real bad ones in Montana, and big range fires from one end of the state to the other, but none were close to the fury of the Big Burn.

[volosong]

Originally Posted by banjomike

Folks who are new to living in the Idaho panhandle and those who are thinking of moving there need to watch this.
The Big Burn . American Experience . WGBH | PBS

Originally Posted by Cnynrat

I recently read the book by the same name written by Timothy Egan - I recommend that for people that are interested in this subject.

Was browsing Netflix tonight for something to watch; saw that American Experience: The Big Burn is now available for watching through Netflix. When the credits ran, the first screen mentions that the documentary is based in part on Egan's book, The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America. Well worth the fifty-one minutes it takes to watch.

Additionally, Egan's book may be available as an audiobook from your local library. I've only gotten part-way through, but ripped it to MP3 for later listening.


,

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by volosong

Was browsing Netflix tonight for something to watch; saw that American Experience: The Big Burn is now available for watching through Netflix. When the credits ran, the first screen mentions that the documentary is based in part on Egan's book, The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America. Well worth the fifty-one minutes it takes to watch.

Additionally, Egan's book may be available as an audiobook from your local library. I've only gotten part-way through, but ripped it to MP3 for later listening.


,

Thanks, Volo!
I'll watch it again!

I'm hoping for a mild summer. All the moisture we got recently caused everything to start growing fast and hard, and if the summer turns out to be hot and dry, we could have the makings for a lot of fuel for wildfire by August or September.

Some mid-summer monsoons would sure relieve those anxieties. Last summer wasn't a scorcher, but we still had the largest range fire on record anyway, and it could have been much worse than it was if it had spread into the national forests.

As always, pray for rain come late June, folks. It helps the farmers. And it damps down wildfires too.

[509]

Originally Posted by banjomike

I was wondering how much of the old burned stumps and scars are left now. It's been a long time since I last went over the Lolo Pass- back in the 60s, when I was going to school in Moscow, I drove the Lolo regularly, and 50 years after the fire, the canyon still looked almost completely burned out except in scattered spots. I once asked a logging student about the fire, and he said it was so hot in the Lolo that the soil was sterilized, and all the natural seeding on the ground and just underneath it was vaporized. The only ash on the ground came from the trees.

.

U of I grants a degree in LOGGING???

BTW...I would rather have a shovel and dirt to defend my house than a Pulaski....but it is a good tool.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by 509

U of I grants a degree in LOGGING???

BTW...I would rather have a shovel and dirt to defend my house than a Pulaski....but it is a good tool.

Forest management and other related degrees. There's a School of Forestry and a School of Mines at the U of I.

[509]

thanks..for the correction.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Start of fire season. This is a good time to remind people to maintain defensible space around their homes.

[slingshot]

In 1977 I bought 20 acres in The Idaho Panhandle near the Montana border about 25 miles NE of Sandpoint. The fire had burned through my property in 1910. There were many very tall trees that were grey in color and void of bark and limbs. They looked like giant grey toothpicks. We called them "snags". They were everywhere. I have a picture of our tipi that we lived in for two years but it's on another thread in this forum and I don't know how to get it to here. There were a couple of times that smoke from other fires filled the trees and air while we were there. It's scary when that happens.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Same thing at our place, 35 miles east of Sandpoint, (but I already mentioned that on the previous page). We had a ring of "defensible space" cleared of trees and shrubs last year, but we opted to leave two burned stumps from 1910 out in the new meadow. Now they stand out as little monuments to a dreadful event, and a reminder to be fire conscious.