One of the big problems with forestry here is that a lot of our forests are either predominantly lodgepole pines, which are ecologically meant to bunch together densely and burn at the same time, or were replanted at the same time so all of the trees are the same age. The Cameron Peak Fire of 2020 was an apocalyptic 200k acre blaze lasting five months which nearly merged with the second-largest fire in state history, leaving a big chunk of the region like these photos or worse. That destabilises the soil leading to avalanches, landslides, sedimentation in waterways, opportunistic invasive species, and a whole cascade effect of land degradation.

Ponderosas on the other hand, they’re good shit. They’re spaced much less densely. Their bark is thick and fire resistant. They drop all of their lower limbs so the fire stays horizontal instead of going vertical and growing in intensity. This weekend I went out with a small group and we planted well over a thousand 1-2 year-old seedlings. They’re all on a mountain slope so we made a little water reservoir beneath each with rocks. It’s good hard work that is probably going on in your area around this time of year. Highly recommend seeking out wilderness volunteer groups.