Yesterday, the Bureau of Land Management reopened Dripping Springs Natural Area and Soledad Canyon to the public. This morning Dr. K, Research Associate Becca and I went up to Soledad Canyon in the foothills of the Organ Mountains to see firsthand what damage last week's fire left behind. The first photo shows an interesting phenomenon: burned grassland to the left of the trail and intact grassland to the right. My guess is that firefighters backburned the area to the left to prevent fire from spreading to the right.
A large sotol completely destroyed by the flames.
A barrel cactus completely singed by the fire.
A large sotol completely destroyed by the flames.
A barrel cactus completely singed by the fire.
The area in the foreground of the photo shows a landscape that looks volcanic after the fire ravaged the grassland, while the grasses and trees on the mountain in the background were spared, undoubtedly through the valiant efforts of firefighters.
2 comments:
very interesting. The desert will probably come back better than ever..
It's scary to see how devastating fire can be, and yet as Liz says the desert will come back better than ever.
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