As winter wildfires burn, will they forever alter Colorado’s forests, water?
The megafire era gripping the West isn’t just a threat to human development. Fires now burn so intensely that they literally reshape forests, shift tree species, and turn calm waterways into devastating mudflows. A 2017 University of Colorado study analyzing 15 burn scars left from fires in Colorado and New Mexico found that as many as 80% of the plots did not contain new seedlings.
Related articles:
- CalMatters: Opinion: Billions in funding for wildfire should be just a down payment
- South Tahoe Now here: Stormwater monitoring following the Caldor Fire was positive, but more monitoring needed
- Herald & News: Crews work to mitigate Bootleg Fire sediment loading, but hurdles remain
- San Francisco Chronicle: 5% of world’s giant sequoias may have died in California wildfires over the summer
- ABC 10: Watch - Climate change is main reason for rapid increase in Western wildfire weather
- New York Times: Wildfires in California Killed Thousands of Giant Sequoias
