Reflection by GL

Only a few day have passed since we left the Fire Ecology Institute and yet so much has happened. Between the loss of a nearly an entire hotshot crew and the flash flood that has caused major destruction of the watershed near Manitou Springs, it seems that all of the discussions we were somewhat prophetic. Without wanting to seem callous, I am not sure that these events would have had such profound impact on me just two weeks ago. After all, they did not impact me directly. Yet since participating in the Institute, I can’t help but feel a deep sense of loss and empathy for the people directly impacted by fire nor will I ever look at any landscape the same way ever again.

                  Even though wildfire has hit pretty close to home several times (i.e. Storm King Mountain and Coal Seam), I still knew very little about it. I have hiked the Strom King trail, read every memorial in Two Rivers Park and watched flames encroach upon the town of Glenwood when I was unable to drive through during the Coal Seam fire. Yet, it wasn’t too hard to go on with my daily life. Then when my mom became a widow, living in a space that seems ripe for wildfire and the drought worsened, I started to pay more attention. Nevertheless, I still knew very little about it and I did not take the time to learn more on my own.  My simple solution, until recently, was to make sure that she had fire insurance and an exit plan. I did not really think that I was at risk so I did not think that I needed these things for myself. I have now completely changed my mind and it all started at the Institute.

                  I am still in disbelief with how, much we covered and we physically saw during the six day we were together. The background knowledge through classroom speakers and GIS map work was really helpful in understanding the basics of fire and how to assess risk in our own communities, but it was the field visits and Sparky’s story of destruction and renewal that really made it all come alive. I am a very visual learner and pictures are powerful for helping me understand, but nothings was as profound as being on-site at the someone’s house who is being completely surrounded by sandbags, feeling the incredible Jurassic Park structure that will only buy people below it several minutes of escape time and testing the hydrophobicity of soil to see just how damaging fire can be on the environment for years after the blaze. Many of the messages received during that particular field day were alarmingly hopeless.

                  When we saw the effects of fire over time, I started to feel better.  This came from visiting the burn sites and seeing new growth return and hearing that certain wildlife species actually thrive after fire. In particular, learning that bighorn sheep made a comeback near the Hayman fire scar due to the growth of new riparian plans gave me a sense of optimism. I also saw how devastating events can mobilize a community to work together to mend the land. Seeing CUSP volunteers at work in various locations drove this point home

                  In the end, the messages I took away were clear: we need fire in our lives, but controlling the wy in which they burn is really important to preserving the forests (and ourselves…). It is going to take so much time, energy and resources to undo the damage we have caused by reforesting too much and building in the forests so heavily. Every time I look at a landscape (and I have seen MANY different ones since the course…) I look at the make-up of the vegetation and watershed differently… even as I drove by a new fire last week in central Oregon on an Indian reservation and then today just south of Yakima, Washington, I am taking notice in ways I never had before. How did the fires start? What kinds of impact are the having as they burn and what will be the long term damage after the fires are out? The Fire Ecology course made me quite aware and I promise to share what I have learned with my students and anyone who wants to or needs to hear.