[plottrunner]

I'm sure someone on here had a Dutton tag after the FS burned that mountain down. What were their experiences with hunting after the fire?

The Sanford Fire (2002) ended up burning something like 80,000 acres.

One of the biggest impacts the Sanford fire had was to fish.

I think this ones is going to have some big fish impacts as well. Panguitch, Yankee, Mammoth Creek, The Sevier River and after today possibly Red Creek are all going to be ashed out....

 

[Charina]

It will effect the big game very little and there will be very little loss of big game because of it.

Then after there are a couple of rain storms and the green grasses and brushes start to come back in the animals just love it.

Not all fires are the same. I'm not formally educated on wildfires, but have spoken with a couple people that are. From what I have gathered from them, I'm not quite as optimistic.

Ultimately time will tell when 'we' can get in there and see the actual extent of damage. Some fires, as this one seems to be, burn so hot and so intensely it sanitizes the soils of all seeds and even the "soil crust" that includes the necessary microbial life to recover in the way many less intense fires do. We may have lost large swaths of productive land for quite a few years to come. Surely there will be some patchwork due to wind shifting the fire, but from the sounds of it, no grass will be sprouting for the next year+ in much of the burned area. It'll depend on how much of the land burned intensely vs just burned over until easily consumed fuels were exhausted.

Speaking of the bookcliffs - I sure which a whole lot more of that monoculture pinion pine would burn. That place isn't living up to it's potential with all that pinion pine suffocating out the grasses and shrubbery. A few good burns in there would be a boon to the game.

 

[goofy elk]

I'm down in Cedar today.
The wind is NOT helping the firefighters.
This picture is ftom the reat stop north of Parawan.
The fire is still moving fast.

 

[backcountry]

I was up at Navajo Lake today and was shocked at how little of the smoke we could see. Not only is today windy it also shifting all over the place which I would imagine makes allocating resources difficult.

Good news is the backburn around Dark Hollow was a success. Seems like they are increasingly successful at creating line and containment. I guess having 1400 people on the ground helps. Forcast to be milder temps and wind the next 48 hours so I would be shocked to see containment sky rocket.

Still no rain anywhere in the long term forecast though.

Per fisheries...I am hopeful about Red Creek but some of those tributaries for Panguitch could be shot. If I remember right, they are still closed for the spawn which can't be good for recruitment. Mammoth may experience limited impact if they can hold those dozer lines on the southside. Same goes for Paragonah/Red Creek if they are able to push an aggressive line the next 48 hours.

But if this explodes again then we could see a loss of great runs and wild populations. I just rediscovered the great fishing that is Red Creek Res. and was looking forward to many great trout dinners with its 8 trout limit. Those were some fun fish three weeks ago.

Fingers crossed.

 

[yak4fish]

I'm sure someone on here had a Dutton tag after the FS burned that mountain down. What were their experiences with hunting after the fire?

The Sanford Fire (2002) ended up burning something like 80,000 acres.

One of the biggest impacts the Sanford fire had was to fish.

I had a later Nov. cow elk tag on Dutton the the year it burned. Hunted right in the burn we killed two cows that year. Normally my brother and I are lucky to get one between us. Worse thing about it was coming off the Mountain looking like a chimney sweep.
I wouldn't worry about the hunti g it will be better and get better over the next few years after a burn. Find the patches that didn't burn and hunt near them in the burn. Take a bar of lava soap to wash the soot off at the end of the day.

 

[klbzdad]

Feeling pretty good about it, actually. Elk and deer love recovering burn sites and so far this has had minimal impact to my regular haunts and with hunters displaced by the fire as well as the animals, I'm looking forward added pressure and number to help in filling a buck, doe, and elk tag this year!

Regarding the effects of fire......

https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr042_2.pdf

http://science.howstuffworks.com/en...e/how-forest-fire-benefit-living-things-2.htm

https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/gtr/gtr_nrs-p1/boerner_p1_104.pdf

The forest service is already cutting snags and using burn log poles to mitigate erosion and mucky run off from monsoons (when they finally come).

 

[WasatchOutdoors]

That unit is going to be amazing the next couple years. New growth after a fire is some of highest nutritional density, and is capable of supporting far more animals than mature, old-growth forest. Yes, they've lost a lot of cover, but the edges around the entire area as well as any islands of unburned cover will hold and attract larger numbers of animals.

 

[backcountry]

I am not confident one way or the other. Its so dynamic. I would guess that some of the burn area will be amazing while others will be a loss.

I just reviewed the Twitchell Fire data which had some good benefits. It only burned 45,000 acres but that was a relatively slow progression of three months. Even then, the top layers of entire hillsides were documented to have washed away. If I remember right, that was even with a fairly aggressive reseeding effort.

This fire is almost 60,000 acres in a few weeks. I am hoping that the places it ran the fastest left behind some patchwork. There were some great small meadows and stands scattered throughout the area. Makes me wonder about the area around Yankee Meadows which has been smoldering the longest.

Time will tell. Will be interesting to watch the next few years. I am guessing many in the Dixie had their summer schedule turned upside down and are retasked with investigating and implementing recovery and stabilization projects. It will be a miracle if we don't see major flash flood events and mudslides during this and the next monsoon.

(PS..this smoke in Cedar City today is nauseating)

 

[CPAjeff]

First and foremost, my condolences to those who lost cabins, property, etc in the fire. Secondly, thanks to all those firefighters for their hard work and dedication on this fire.

I drew the early August cow elk hunt down there this year and over time, my "worried" level about the quality of the hunt has decreased. Now, with that being said, my 1 point that it took to draw the tag is not a drop in the bucket to those individuals who have waited 15+ years for a chance at a bull down there. I still look forward to getting down there and having a great hunt.

 

[bowgy]

First and foremost, my condolences to those who lost cabins, property, etc in the fire. Secondly, thanks to all those firefighters for their hard work and dedication on this fire.

I drew the early August cow elk hunt down there this year and over time, my "worried" level about the quality of the hunt has decreased. Now, with that being said, my 1 point that it took to draw the tag is not a drop in the bucket to those individuals who have waited 15+ years for a chance at a bull down there. I still look forward to getting down there and having a great hunt.

I sent you a pm. Keep in touch and I can give you some pointers on where I think the elk will be. If you want to do any scouting I can also show you some areas, I think that they will have it out and the area open by then.

Now that the evacuations are lifted I'm going up to the ranch tomorrow to check things out. I want to go early enough to see if I can see any elk and to see if more have been pushed into the area by the fire.

Things are getting too close, the fire started less than 2.5 miles (as the crow flies) from the ranch. The Swains Creek / Stout canyon fire in July of 2012 started less than 3 miles from my cabin.

I also want to thank the fire fighters for all they do.

 

[klbzdad]

First and foremost, my condolences to those who lost cabins, property, etc in the fire. Secondly, thanks to all those firefighters for their hard work and dedication on this fire.

I drew the early August cow elk hunt down there this year and over time, my "worried" level about the quality of the hunt has decreased. Now, with that being said, my 1 point that it took to draw the tag is not a drop in the bucket to those individuals who have waited 15+ years for a chance at a bull down there. I still look forward to getting down there and having a great hunt.

Our property is in Rainbow Meadows by Lowder Creek. When we went in to grab belongings on Monday, there were a healthy population of elk and deer all through the area south of the fire. Also, cabin owner friends in Meadow Lake Estates report a fair number of elk and deer still crossing their property from Han**** to access the succulents in the monument in the evening and then coming back in the morning to bed on the hillside for the day. I think your hunt is going to be just fine. You should be able to fill that tag opening day without breaking a sweat!!!!!

 

[bowgy]

Our property is in Rainbow Meadows by Lowder Creek. When we went in to grab belongings on Monday, there were a healthy population of elk and deer all through the area south of the fire. Also, cabin owner friends in Meadow Lake Estates report a fair number of elk and deer still crossing their property from Han**** to access the succulents in the monument in the evening and then coming back in the morning to bed on the hillside for the day. I think your hunt is going to be just fine. You should be able to fill that tag opening day without breaking a sweat!!!!!

I have friends that have cabins in that area and they have told me of shooting their elk while sitting on their front porch:shock: I know of a coupe of guys that took their LE elk sitting on their front porch.