Prescribed Burn On Section 6 OT

For those planning to hike this section, be aware that a FS burn took place on April 12th east of Iron Fork Creek to the north crossing of FR 78 (4.8 miles total).
We hiked through ash and breathed in the smoldering remains. The tread is visible but the blue blazes are mostly scorched on the trees. It's not a pretty site.

I always hate to see the shortly-thereafter-affects of prescribed burns, but I've come to learn that those burns are certainly important to the long-term future of our wilderness.

Don't get me wrong, I strongly believe in letting nature take her course, but I prefer these smaller seasonal burn-offs vs. a lightning storm (or worse, a cigarette ) igniting an entire wilderness area and burning it to the ground.

Bummer about the hike John, but that area will be better than ever soon.

Based on what Tim Ernst said on his website, these burns are unnecessay in the forests of this area of the country.
Out West is a different story. He has spent a lot more time in the woods than me so I tend to believe what he says.

Well, I guess I have to take Mr. Ernst's word for it too John!

What do I know?...but I do know that there are a lot of wildfires out West and we hardly ever see any here. Rainfall? Prescribed burns? Who knows...

I have often wondered what would happen if a fire got back in some of our wilderness areas with all the timber
that is down now. There are signs of a fire in the Short Creek area and I am surprised that some of the downed
timber didn't burn.