After the fire

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www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/72157645000450855/

This was a quick drive-by shot, taken on 14 May 2014, during a two-day trip to the Canadian Rockies. Though forest fires cause a lot of damage, the ones that are caused naturally, by lightning, are also necessary and very beneficial. I don't know what caused this particular fire, but the landscape looks very different when the mountainsides are covered in the thin, burnt remains of trees.

"Although often harmful and destructive to humans, naturally occurring wildfires play an integral role in nature. They return nutrients to the soil by burning dead or decaying matter. They also act as a disinfectant, removing disease-ridden plants and harmful insects from a forest ecosystem. And by burning through thick canopies and brushy undergrowth, wildfires allow sunlight to reach the forest floor, enabling a new generation of seedlings to grow." From National Geographic.

"Historically, when fires from natural or other causes began, efforts were made to control them as quickly as possible. That has changed somewhat as more has been learned about the role of fire within forest ecosystems. Forests in which fires are regularly suppressed can burn much hotter and more dangerously when a fire finally does break out. With suppression, large amounts of underbrush accumulate on the forest floor, certain tree species cannot regenerate (oak and pine, for example, need fire to crack their seeds), and trees that do flourish become densely packed. Within this forest structure, the number of fires continues to increase, getting larger and gaining in intensity. This has become increasingly dangerous as urban and suburban areas encroach on forested spaces." From enviroliteracy.org/article.php/46.html