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and you wonder is there is any Southern Sierra area that is untouched by fire?
The answer, of course, is no. Most all of California's ecosystems -- and especially southern California -- are shaped by fire as a major influence. The problem is over a hundred years of fire suppression has created extreme fuel loads in many areas. That's exacerbated by increasingly early fire seasons, likely driven by global climate change. Even without the increased fuel loads, though, very hot fires undoubtedly occurred as seen in the huge fire scars on all Giant Sequoias.
Doesn't make walking through burned areas more pleasant, unfortunately... (though I find fire areas fascinating -- nature at work!).
Still no sign or smell of smoke in the Owens Valley and neighbors who hiked to Flower and Mattlock on Sunday did not see smoke. They said it is further south towards Olancha. Possibility of a little cooler weather with windy conditions over the weekend, Horseshoe Meadow was in the low 50s yesterday afternoon.
