Montgomery Woods Report by Julie Rogers

As Montgomery Woods is closed to the public for some time, and the fire's effects can't be seen from the road, I feel the need to share this experience.

Please note: This is an unofficial report -- only my relatively untrained observations! State Parks surely has much more accurate information. This is not intended to replace official statements about the fire situation in Montgomery Woods.

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Yesterday I had the privilege of walking with a fire crew boss through Montgomery Woods. I was surprised by the amount of fire the park has experienced -- because I had heard, and had previously repeated, that only one side of the park burned, and only underbrush.

I found that perhaps half of the park has been impacted by fire. This is only a rough estimate; I am not very familiar with the park or how much area the trails cover. We did walk the whole trail, so I believe we saw a good portion of the park.

Here is what we saw:

Large quantities of undergrowth have been consumed -- mainly tan oak, plus ferns in some areas, and other vegetation I couldn't recognize. Some central wet areas are untouched, but in some wet areas the low vegetation did burn. Much of the hillsides on the outsides of the looped path are covered with ash, underneath the towering trees which still provide nearly complete shade.

This kind of fire damage to the undergrowth, with its resultant huge quantities of nutritious ash, looks bad now but is actually very beneficial to the forest. Next spring the ferns and wildflowers will be fantastic!

The old growth trees did magnificently well, as they do historically, due in part to their incredibly thick bark. A few (maybe six that I saw) old growth redwoods apparently received direct lightning hits. Some of those broke and the tops fell to the ground, or the trunks were split. A few trunks are now bare black snags, and a couple were still smoldering at the top. These are quite isolated; probably 99% of the older trees are unharmed. Numerous huge trees were burned at their bases, but this won't harm the trees, which have obviously already withstood many fires! As Battalion Chief Mark Tolbert said to me recently, "This is history in the making!" (Mark has just taken a job at Cal Fire headquarters in Sacramento -- a big loss to our area.) What I was told is the tallest tree was unharmed.

Some younger but tall redwoods burned, but less hot, and their trunks are intact.

The fire boss with whom I walked the area said the fire damage was very minimal compared with what could have happened -- as we all know! He also commented that, due to the fire's clearing out the underbrush, large quantities of deer have been seen, delightedly rolling in the ash to rid themselves of fleas and such! This is one of many, many benefits "nature" provides when it brings wildfires to forests. The park’s paths are in places littered with burned logs and splinters from trees that were struck by lightning, requiring us to crawl over or under the debris to continue on. I would guess the park will be closed for some months, as a large amount of cleanup is needed. It is wise to keep people out -- and I urge people not to venture in there despite the warnings -- because there are many hazards, including the burned and weakened trees or tree branches which could fall without warning. I didn't dare to enter without full fire protection gear, including boots and helmet.

Small patches of wispy smoke could be seen here and there. These are being monitored daily for flareups by both firefighters on foot and an aerial patrol.

Overall, again, I was surprised to see so much burned area within Montgomery Woods. But this is a good fire which, as part of the succession of many wildfires these trees have seen, is playing its part in continuing to make this forest resilient and resistant to major fires in the future. The sight is sad right now, but the forest will flourish anew and with great vigor and beauty very soon. Every cloud has a silver lining, and every wildfire brings green blessings and new life!"

Julie Rogers
Executive Director
Mendocino County Fire Safe Council
firesafe@pacific.net
(707) 462-3662