Worst Summer Ever??

[LifeIsGood]

^^^
Regarding the latest post by Jibler above, I don’t understand how the first pictures can be from 100 years ago???

Or is the post-100 year photo computer generated?

[jibler]

yes this is full hypothetical landscape in typical ecology terrain


with original | 3 years after catastrophic fire | Recovery 100 years later


and is not entirely out of the ether? based on rather big bibliography:

[1] Chambers et al. Patterns of conifer regeneration following high-severity wildfire in Colorado Front Range
ponderosa pine forests (2016). https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /52277.pdf
[2] USGS. Post-Fire Conifer Regeneration Under a Warming Climate.
https://www.usgs.gov/programs/climate-a ... -under-a-w
arming
[3] USDA Forest Service. Fire Risk and Climate Change in the Colorado Front Range (2024).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /68980.pdf
[4] Rodman et al. The historic 2020 fire year in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming (2022).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /65991.pdf
[5] Guiterman et al. Vegetation type conversion in the US Southwest (2022).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /64464.pdf
[6] Woolman et al. Fire-induced losses of southwestern ponderosa pine forests (2022).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /64608.pdf
[7] Stewart et al. Effects of postfire climate and seed availability on regeneration (2021).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /62793.pdf
[8] Shive et al. Spatial patterns of regeneration after wildfire in California mixed conifer forest (2018).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /57074.pdf
[9] USDA Forest Service. Postfire vegetation and fuel development in Sierra mixed conifer (2020).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /61637.pdf
[10] National Park Service. Ecological Consequences of Fire in Yellowstone.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/e ... f-fire.htm
[11] USDA Forest Service. Fire Ecology of Rocky Mountain Forests (2021).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /63564.pdf
[12] Yellowstone Science. Ecological implications of climate change in Greater Yellowstone.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/upload/A ... e-23-1.pdf
[13] Tepley et al. Post-fire establishment in Douglas-fir/western hemlock forests (2014).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /47569.pdf
[14] USDA Forest Service. Postfire Tree Regeneration Following the 2020 Labor Day Fires.
https://research.fs.usda.gov/sites/defa ... tsheet.pdf
[15] Fifth National Climate Assessment, Chapter 27: Northwest (2023).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /67800.pdf
[16] USGS. Restoring Pinyon-Juniper Communities Under Climate Change and Wildfire.
https://www.usgs.gov/programs/climate-a ... gement-and
[17] USGS. Synthesis and Forecasts of Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Die-off.
https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/ellis-q-margolis
[18] Coop et al. Wildfire-driven forest conversion in western North America (2020).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/t ... /60427.pdf
[19] McFarland et al. Extreme fire spread events and large high-severity patches (2025).
https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch ... /69074.pdf

[LifeIsGood]

Low-intensity prescribed fires, when the weather conditions don't favor extreme fire behavior, are needed.

I’m going to quote Ekalina here, as this statement seems most accurate to me, versus an attitude of “everything needs to burn.”

Historically, there were far more small fires in the American West, prior to our White Man fire suppression. Although, there were also huge catastrophic fires at times, like those we struggle to control in modern times. A common misperception is that these large-scale fires are a new phenomena, and can be entirely blamed on humans (especially when they originate from a still-smoldering campfire), but in reality there have been other summers in the past, such as “The Big Blowup” in Montana in the year 1910 (which can’t be blamed on human-caused global warming).

[Dave B]

What was it like back in 456, 1033, 1472, 1609, 1835....Can't believe we made it this far!

Onionesque.jpg

[Istoodupthere]

The dude on a climbing site using Alex Pretti as his profile pic is making fun of someone? You can’t make this stuff up…Best summer ever

[Wentzl]

If there's a silver lining, it's that the first big monsoon surge absolutely stunted fire activity here in CO. Not to discount the destruction caused to a Ouray neighborhood by a debris flow. With more rain coming, the transition to a warm/wet summer may yield a great mushroom season too. In August '22 I saw so many mushrooms I wouldn't have imagined existed in CO on just one hike. Plus the second wildflower bloom, depending on location, etc.

But by and large, yes it's rough and it would be normal to think so.

You would think that a summer like this would be a reckoning moment for those bright minds who still think we're dealing with a normal Milankovitch cycle or whatever the preferred excuse is, but...

Speaking of mushrooms, is this casualty a result of climate change or corporate greed?

https://www.denverpost.com/2026/08/05/t ... ndraising/

[jsf80238]

I'm looking for a little education here, because I have heard from many sources how fire suppression, say, 100 years ago, is responsible to some degree for the larger fires we are experiencing now. I'm trying to think through that mechanism.

So, the year is 1926, and lightning strikes in the middle of the forest, a fire starts, and let's suppose no one makes an effort to put it out. It burns for a short time or a long time and burns down all the trees in a small or large area. I'm trying to picture how that protects the nearby forest which did not burn. Or is the theory there were _many_ small fires, each burning a circle in the forest, limiting the amount of trees which might burn in the next fire?

I heard about the policy of extinguishing fires before 10am the next day. For fires in remote areas, and in 1926 there were probably a lot more remote areas, I don't see how most fires would be spotted, let alone extinguished, that quickly.

A searched the web for an explanation but was not able to find an answer to the question I'm posing above.

[LifeIsGood]

Or is the theory there were many small fires, each burning a circle in the forest, limiting the amount of trees which might burn in the next fire?

CORRECT!

The term “mosaic” is often used: areas of thinner forests and recently burned zones slow the spread of future fires.

[cisnerosab]

It's not just that there were many small fires burning 'circles' in the forest. Bigger fires burn hotter and the flames reach higher into the canopy, instead of staying close to the ground. Some trees, like Ponderosa, have built-in fire resistance. When a small fire passes through, the bark of mature trees protects them. This means the small fires would clear brush, grass, and younger trees while not destroying the older ones. This protected the forest canopy, which created the right conditions for new trees to regenerate after a small fire. These various stages of growth, fire, regrowth across a forest created the mosaic.

With fire suppression (and lack of human resources to play the role of clearing dead brush manually) things changed. As dead matter built up and fires started, they became literally hotter (it's like adding extra logs to a campfire even after it's pleasantly warm). Eventually the protections mature trees have are insufficient and they also succumb to the flames. Alongside this, bigger and hotter fires can climb up into the canopy of the forest, which can increase their ability to spread from tree to tree. After these big fires, far fewer trees survive, which can result in large areas with little shade and less water, making it difficult for trees to reestablish

[cottonmountaineering]

I'm looking for a little education here, because I have heard from many sources how fire suppression, say, 100 years ago, is responsible to some degree for the larger fires we are experiencing now. I'm trying to think through that mechanism.

So, the year is 1926, and lightning strikes in the middle of the forest, a fire starts, and let's suppose no one makes an effort to put it out. It burns for a short time or a long time and burns down all the trees in a small or large area. I'm trying to picture how that protects the nearby forest which did not burn. Or is the theory there were _many_ small fires, each burning a circle in the forest, limiting the amount of trees which might burn in the next fire?

I heard about the policy of extinguishing fires before 10am the next day. For fires in remote areas, and in 1926 there were probably a lot more remote areas, I don't see how most fires would be spotted, let alone extinguished, that quickly.

A searched the web for an explanation but was not able to find an answer to the question I'm posing above.

lots of mechanisms but more less intense fires would clear out all of the fuel on the ground, mature trees with no branches near the ground would survive. dead trees would burn. smaller trees would burn so forests wouldnt become really dense like they are today.

if you explore a forest in the front range off trail youll likely encounter a forest you can barely walk through due to deadfall, dying trees (bark beetle, lodgepole pines reaching retirement age, drought, etc), and too much understory growth. when these burn they turn into really intense fires that are hard to control.

[MatB]

I recommend The Big Burn for anyone curious about the historical context behind the US Forest Service and it's policy of putting out fires at all cost. Pretty interesting read about the West at the turn of the 1900s and how all this land was being "managed".

PBS also did a documentary on the same event that was informative and engaging.

[greenonion]

I recommend The Big Burn for anyone curious about the historical context behind the US Forest Service and it's policy of putting out fires at all cost. Pretty interesting read about the West at the turn of the 1900s and how all this land was being "managed".

PBS also did a documentary on the same event that was informative and engaging.

Agreed. Excellent book and very interesting story with a historical perspective from ~1910. Author: Timothy Egan