Forest fire aftermath
| Title | Info |
|---|---|
| Common name | Pine, Ponderosa |
| Scientific name | Pinus ponderosa |
| Taxonomic group | Pinaceae |
| Source | Dan L. Perlman |
| Ecosystems | Forests |
| Forests | Temperate coniferous forest |
| Change over time | Disturbance |
| Disturbance | Fire ecology |
| Lessons | Disturbance |
| Date | July 09, 2000 |
| Location | Pine,Colorado,USA,North America |
Totally burned area after the Hi Meadow fire, Colorado. This image gives a sense of the power of this massive fire which killed all plant life on this ridge.
The Hi Meadow fire burned nearly 11,000 acres (17 square miles or 44 square km) of Ponderosa pine forests, which, under natural conditions experience frequent low-intensity fires. However, like much of the US West, decades of fire suppression had allowed fuel loads of dead branches and undergrowth to build to dangerous levels, and this fire was hot, intense, and fast moving. The fire lasted about ten days in mid-June, 2000, destroyed 51 houses, and cost approximately $8 million in suppression and rehabilitation plus another $5-10 million in property loss, according to the US Forest Service. A single cigarette was determined to be the cause of the fire (investigators actually found the cigarette butt after the fire).
