Lory State Park after High Park Fire

The flames are gone now. And the ash and smoke have settled. But driving towards Lory State Park, from Fort Collins, CO, you can still see obvious signs of the High Park Fire, which burned 490 acres of the 2,600 acre park. Handmade signs and gas station billboards reading "Thank You Firefighters" greet you on your drive. And you can see far into the distance blackened trees littering the slopes. But only once you are standing in the ashes, can you fully understand the impacts of the fire.

Over the weekend, working on an article, I drove up to Lory to take pictures of the park's burned area. Park Ranger Michael Denis drove me up one of the park's service roads. Once at the top of the hill, the full devastation of the fire became much more real. The soil, rocks and vegetation are scorched black and skeleton forests extend into the distance.

The northwest corner of Lory State Park was burned in the High Park Fire this summer. Image copyright Ricki Watkins 2012.

The image of devastation was not the only one that circled in my mind after seeing the affects of the fire. Life is already starting to bloom in the desolate aftermath; green finding the light under the black.

Also, Lory, with the help of other organizations, has already begun restoration efforts by way of aerial reseeding and mulching. Further efforts are planned for the future. Additionally, the park took early preventative measures to keep the watershed safe by installing catch basins at the base of the drainages as soon as the park was reopened.

"Long term, we want to get the natural ecosystem back to good understanding, but it just takes time and patience," Lory State Park manager Larry Butterfield said.

Soldier Canyon in Lory State Park has already undergone restoration by way of aerial reseeding and mulching. Image copyright Ricki Watkins 2012.

New life is already starting to emerge from the ashes of the High Park Fire, which burned 490 acres of Lory State Park. Image copyright Ricki Watkins 2012. 

First Post

This is my first post for this blog. This blog was started for a JTC class at Colorado State University.