"Tom Beno" wrote in message
news:lhjv9.139447$md1.28110@sccrnsc03...

Despite grim evaluations during summer, officials say large swaths only
lightly
burned. Some areas are the better for a needed cleaning.

I've seen this in the Cleveland National Forest and the Pines Fire that
burned 62,000 acres this year in San Diego county. Last week I drove
through part of the areas that were burnt and was surprised at how "spotty"
the fire was and how much vegetation made it through, especially in the
protected valleys. This is especially surprising considering this was the
driest year on record. Some hillsides were completely burnt but even as
recent as the Pines Fire was (in late summer) already I've seen regeneration
and root-sprout growth there, some of it being a foot high! (chaparral)
This wasn't the death and destruction of that forest and chaparral, it was
the rebirth and actually badly needed because some areas hadn't burned in
many decades. When Bush stood over the forest that had burnt (Oregon?) and
stated "What a shame and what a waste", that was just political propaganda
used to open the forest to logging so he could pay back his logging friends
for their political contributions.

Jerry