Lindy
2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park
41–50 of 210 posts
Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
The concerning issue with this fire is that humans have spent most of the last 100 years suppressing wildfires in these forests. This leads to an unprecedented amount of fuel built up on the forest floor, which leads to abnormally large and hot wildfires. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be too much for the redwoods, though time will tell.
Not sure what fire plans California have, but prescribed burning is a thing. https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/prescribed-fire
It’s a thing, but it’s not being done on a large enough scale. It’s and incredibly difficult, decade long process to get plans approved on public lands. Private lands are much easier but still need extensive permitting through fire and air quality officials. We’re just starting to acknowledge the former extent of cultural burning in California, and the current need for fire on the landscape. It’s gotten easier to get the general public on board over the last couple years, and hopefully that trend continues!
Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park
#43A hundred miles north of this fire, at the Armstrong Redwood State Park, there is another lightning-caused wildfire that is burning through an old growth grove. That fire is burning through the forest floor only, and is significantly less dangerous. The 1400-year-old Armstrong tree, and park buildings, have been protected, while the fire is free to burn through the surrounding undergrowth. Everyone involved seems to…
> The 1400-year-old Armstrong tree The bare fact that a tree is 1400 years old is pretty strong evidence that it's unlikely to be harmed by a fire.
>> The 1400-year-old Armstrong tree
> The bare fact that a tree is 1400 years old is pretty strong evidence that it's unlikely to be harmed by a fire.
For fires the likes of which they've experienced in their lifetimes, perhaps. Hard to know otherwise:
"What is remarkable about the CZU fire is this is a coastal fire, primarily along the the coast near the Santa Cruz mountains... in forests, a lot of redwoods, that have simply never seen forest fires... we are dealing with different climate conditions that are precipitating in fires the likes of which we haven't seen in modern recorded history in dense forests that are well-covered and have been historically immune from significant fires."
Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The 1400-year-old Armstrong tree The bare fact that a tree is 1400 years old is pretty strong evidence that it's unlikely to be harmed by a fire.
>> The 1400-year-old Armstrong tree > The bare fact that a tree is 1400 years old is pretty strong evidence that it's unlikely to be harmed by a fire. For fires the likes of which they've experienced in their lifetimes, perhaps. Hard to know otherwise: "What is remarkable about the CZU fire is this is a coastal fire, primarily along the the coast near the Santa Cruz mountains... in forests, a lot of redwoods, that ha…
You are aware that modern recorded history in California goes back much, much less than 1400 years?
Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
I believe the heat of a wildfire is literally the trigger for the cone to open up and release the redwood's seeds! (I don't know the exact mechanism for this, though.)
I don't know. I know there is a pine that does that, but I'm in rough shape and trying to stay out of trouble, which is challenging for me under the best of circumstances. I remember the pine cone of I think a yellow pine species opens up at 170 degrees, so it typically opens in response to fire. A quick google suggests it is called a Jack Pine. Hurricanes are also thought to be responsible for bringing fly species t…
I believe you are referring to Lodgepole Pines
Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The 1400-year-old Armstrong tree The bare fact that a tree is 1400 years old is pretty strong evidence that it's unlikely to be harmed by a fire.
The global temperature anomaly is already out-of-range for not only the lifetime of this tree, but much of its evolutionary history. We are entering an out-of-context situation for a large portion of the earth's extant lifeforms.
Meh, there are metasequoia fossils in Alaska, I’m pretty sure the 3 sequoia species will be winners in climate change.
Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> The 1400-year-old Armstrong tree > The bare fact that a tree is 1400 years old is pretty strong evidence that it's unlikely to be harmed by a fire. For fires the likes of which they've experienced in their lifetimes, perhaps. Hard to know otherwise: "What is remarkable about the CZU fire is this is a coastal fire, primarily along the the coast near the Santa Cruz mountains... in forests, a lot of redwoods, that ha…
You are aware that modern recorded history in California goes back much, much less than 1400 years?
Depends what he means by "modern recorded history", but yes, I'm aware of basic history, thank you very much. What I was saying was that it is not at all obvious whether they have actually experienced such fires before or not; it seems possible they haven't.
Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
The concerning issue with this fire is that humans have spent most of the last 100 years suppressing wildfires in these forests. This leads to an unprecedented amount of fuel built up on the forest floor, which leads to abnormally large and hot wildfires. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be too much for the redwoods, though time will tell.
Not sure what fire plans California have, but prescribed burning is a thing. https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/prescribed-fire
It’s a thing we discussed 2 days ago here, that isn’t happening even with public support.
Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park
#49Why are there always so many fires in California?
Coastal California sees rain from about the end of October through February, then tapers off to about nothing by May. It then does not rain again until Halloween. I used to think "doesn't rain" meant "half an inch every couple of weeks" but it does not rain in fact at all, it's totally bone dry for the hottest part of the year, until late fall. Getting three inches over the weekend is enough precipitation in the bay area to warrant flood warnings for several days. Compared to Dallas Texas where three inches in an afternoon might cause very localized flooding for an hour or two. It's quite bone dry here in the summers, the ground is literally "tinder dry" for months on end.
If you look at meso scale weather, there's a high pressure zone that develops between San Fransisco and Hawaii every summer which wards off low pressure (rain) systems. Generally develops by early June and lasts through August. Research "Pacific High" or "TransPac weather routing" or "Pac Cup weather routing" it's a major component of Pacific Ocean sailing races
Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park
#50Another demonstration than ancien forests are fireproof whereas young forests aren't. This is the reason that makes centenary trees so valuable and so rare.
But each fire gnaw a little of this protection.
Arsonists should be more severely punished. Is the same as terrorism, just much more insidious, causing a bigger economical damage and a durable damage at long term. Not to mention that also kills people...
Why is so well accepted as unavoidable by the public opinion still amazes me