Mt. Helena- day 3 post fire

August 31, 2022

I was awake at 4:45, I was on the Prairie Trail by 6:45, and hit the 3-mile mark by 7:45. Today was the first day that people were allowed back on the trails on Mount Helena. I got up and got ready to go because I wanted to make sure I got some very early post fire pictures. I know the three or four spots that I took the pictures from, and I plan to go back to those same spots over the course of the next few months to see how secondary succession presents following this fire.

Seeing firsthand how the bunchgrass performed was really fascinating. Of course, bunchgrass has evolved specifically to survive this sort of fire, so it was fascinating but not surprising. The bunchgrass crowns were all burned away, but the soil in between the bunches didn’t show any sign of fire damage at all. The fire swept across the area going crown to crown- reducing the intensity on the soil.

The Bitterbrush fared less well. There were lots of ash shadows where Bitterbrush formerly stood. Bitter brush, while an important forage for deer, can act as a ladder fuel where there are trees in a primarily grassland and shrub habitat. It may take a while for the Bitterbrush to come back. And I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

I’ve walked the area of the fire quite extensively, I’m reasonably familiar with the plant community. It will be interesting to see what plants return, what new plants show up, and whether or not cheatgrass invades the area. That would be a terrific shame. Cheatgrass thrives in post fire conditions and is an early season germinator. It is, in my opinion, the real scourge of the west.