Gray agreed, saying recently burned, open forest ground with plenty of grasses and shrubs could be a food heaven for animals. “They can really take advantage of that particular mix of resources that are available in those very young, open forests,” said Lertzman. Photo by Joe O'Connal / The Canadian Press Two of the three fires making up a devastating wildfire complex that destroyed almost 200 homes around Lake Okanagan in the B.C. Ken Lertzman, professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University’s School of resource and environmental management, said some small animals can thrive after fires, such as bluebirds, hawks, owls and woodpeckers. He said prescribed burns would be important in such areas to limit future wildfires. Gray said situations like these will pose significant fire risks, especially with ongoing climate change making things drier and hotter. In about five to eight years, dead trees will start to break apart. “These little beetles, they’ll burrow into the tree and they will lay their eggs, and when the young larvae grow they will basically kill the tree,” said Gray. Recently burned trees, weakened but clinging to life, can attract bark beetles and other insects, Gray said. Currently, much of the area remains as shrubs and grassland,” Bergeson wrote in an email. “Little regeneration has occurred in much of the area, and we may not see trees return in a timely way or at all. Tara Bergeson, an urban forestry supervisor with the City of Kelowna, said the 2003 fire that scorched the park and the city was “very severe and has had a lasting impact on the landbase.” In 2003, the Okanagan Mountain Park fire forced the evacuation of thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of properties. Okanagan residents are no strangers to catastrophic wildfires. Smoke from the McDougall Creek wildfire fills the air and nearly blocks out the sun as people take in the view of Okanagan Lake from Tugboat Beach, in Kelowna, B.C., Friday, Aug. “Unless you intentionally plant these areas, they’re not likely to have a lot of trees in the future,” said Gray. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. They need fire on a regular basis, so they will re-occupy those areas,” said Gray.įor instance, shrub species in the wildfire zone already had seeds deeply buried in the soil, and were waiting for heat or fire to germinate them, Gray said. It’s resilience…there are so many plants that are adapted to fire. Grasses will come back and that’s good for a while,” said Gray. “What will happen on that landscape is you’ll get a lot of shrubs. Gray said that by next June, people should expect to see “an explosion of shrubs, grasses, and herbs” sprouting from the ruined forest. Wildfires: Another harrowing night for Okanagan amid state of emergency A front-row seat to devastation on the shores of Lake Okanagan.“A lot of that landscape may not see a lot of trees come back.” There is not a lot of moisture in the soil and it’s only going to get drier with climate change,” said Gray. “When you look at West Kelowna, it’s really rocky, steep ground and trees aren’t going to come back very well there. But the tall trees destroyed by the fires may never recover or return, said Robert Gray, a wildland fire ecologist.
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