A look at the forest after fire
Photos courtesy of IDAHO PANHANDLE NATIONAL FORESTS Workers assess a forest area in the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District burned during the Grizzly Complex fires in 2015.
One of the burned trees remaining in the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District since the Grizzly Complex fires of 2015.
COEUR d’ALENE — In May, the Idaho Panhandle National Forests planted approximately 45,500 western white pine, larch and cedar in 126 acres of the Lower Flat Salvage Sale area on the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District that was burned during the 2015 Grizzly Complex fires.
The Grizzly Complex fires were a series of lightning-caused fires that started during lightning storms on Aug. 10 and 22, 2015. They burned in the Coeur d’Alene River area in the Steamboat, Little Elk, Downey, Flat Creek, Miners Creek, Little Canyon, Teddy Creek and Eagle Creek drainages. It affected roughly 24,000 acres in the area.
Hemlock needles coat the forest floor of the Lower Flat Salvage Sale area, masking the ash and burned ground. Thick stands of intrusive hemlocks, affected by the wildfire, look deceptively well, according to the U.S. Forest Service; however, with their fire-intolerant thin bark, much of the hemlock in this area is already dead or dying.
Winter logging activity removed many of the burned trees, providing an opportunity for the district to shift the tree species composition to more resilient tree species such as those being planted to meet management objectives. Despite the wildfire, lady-ferns, huckleberries, and other plants are already thriving in the new openings.
The Settlers Grove Ancient Cedars area remains closed since the fire, but Shoshana Cooper, spokeswoman for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, said the Forest Service hopes to have the area open in a few weeks.