WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Registered User dhagan's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-20-2014
    Location
    Birmingham Al
    Age
    62
    Posts
    96

    Default Burn notice. 1/8/2020


  2. #2
    Registered User Last Call's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-03-2013
    Location
    Olive Branch, MS
    Posts
    419

    Default

    Are these "controlled burns" beneficial or harmful? Almost every time I have walked thru one afterwards I see dead turtle shells. I would think they are decimating to the native animals.
    Let's head for the roundhouse; they can't corner us there!

  3. #3

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Last Call View Post
    Are these "controlled burns" beneficial or harmful? Almost every time I have walked thru one afterwards I see dead turtle shells. I would think they are decimating to the native animals.
    I've been in a couple controlled burns over the years----as a backpacker of course---and they suck---unless you like living in smoke for several days---and enjoy gulping down gallons of polluted air. Now I carry this item on most of my trips---


  4. #4
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-20-2013
    Location
    Roaring Gap, NC
    Age
    77
    Posts
    8,529

    Default

    It depends.
    Do you want a controlled burn?
    Or an out of control burn?
    The government tried suppressing wild fires. Look what happened in Yellowstone NP in 1988.
    The turtles are still there.
    Wayne

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    10-21-2013
    Location
    Tuscaloosa, Alabama
    Posts
    11

    Default

    Short answer is they help. Long answer is it depends on what plants and animals you want to encourage. The long leaf pine ecosystem is adapted for fire.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  6. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    07-11-2017
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Age
    62
    Posts
    166

    Default

    Last year I set off for an overnight hike on the Lone Star Trail. I saw a huge cloud of smoke over the forest as soon as I got off the interstate, so I stopped in the ranger's office to find out what was going on. They were in fact doing a controlled burn but she told me the section I planned to hike was safe. The trail was blackened with soot and trees were scorched - it had obviously recently been burned. I was barely 1/4 mile in when I started seeing plumes of smoke from small fires here and there and reluctantly turned back after deciding I didn't want to take a chance. That evening I was watching the news and learned that a helicopter carrying crew who were assisting with the burn had crashed in the forest not too far from where I had been hiking. I'm really glad I turned back.

  7. #7

    Default

    I backpacked the Naked Ground Trail (below pic) right after the big Maple Springs wildfire which torched and scorched several thousands acres in North Carolina in the Kilmer/Slickrock wilderness. This was around the same time as the terrible Gatlinburg wildfire. The fire climbed up the ridge and burned a bunch of land all the way up to 5,000+ feet.


  8. #8

    Default

    I remember last March 2019 I was backpacking the BMT near Mud Gap and reached Whiggs Meadow in a cloud of smoke as the FS was pulling a couple burns in my area. It sucked!! Here I am atop Whiggs Meadow at 5,000 feet with the fire smoke chasing me off the mountain---


  9. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    06-12-2006
    Location
    northern illinois
    Posts
    4,532
    Images
    2

    Default

    Controlled burns are beneficial/necessary, ask the
    Aussies. They learned the hard way.

++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •