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This is a very-large-scale reforestation project. Much of the burn area has been 'mulched in situ' by large chipper machines that crawl the hillside and devour deadfall and other brush and detritus, leaving a relatively blank slate for reforestation efforts.
Strictly based on my observations (I'm not a scientist!), it appears that bear clover (chamaebatia foliolosa, aka 'mountain misery') is the first shrub/tree to recolonize the cleared area. Any standing healthy trees had been left standing, so the area is dotted with stands of 12-15 year old black oaks, live oaks, cedars, jeffrey pine, douglas fir, big leaf maple, alder, dogwood.
Over the winter of 2024-2025, the area looked severe, and it wasn't apparent there were as many living oaks and maples. Spring progressed to summer, and the slopes showed healthy with a young and ascendant forest.
Copyright 2021, Thomas James Kenney