Re: Calif. Wildfire Forces Evacuations

I too agree with EastBay and Wizard. Good points, both of you. I reprint here a previous post of mine at the time of the Arrowhead fire.

Re: More on the Arrowhead Fire
Author: mp (---.dsl.lsan03.pacbell.net)
Date: 06-13-02 01:51

Of course a careless "man-made" fire is never good. But bear in mind that fire is also a natural part of the ecology. The cones of some pine trees, those known as the "closed cone pines" will not open to release their seeds unless subjected to the heat of a fire. Examples are the Bishop, Monterey, Knobcone and Santa Cruz Island pines. Also, the seeds of some of the native chaperral plants will not germinate unless subjected to the heat of a fire. This is a process known as "heat scarification". This is why areas which have not burned in many years have few young plants in them. Instead the existing plants continue to mature and build up the oily resins which are what causes the fire to burn so intensely when it does happen. So periodic fire, under the right circumstances, can be a good thing for the ecology. Sometimes that is hard for us to see.