Letters to the Editor: We should approach post-fire forests with more curiosity
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To the editor: Kudos to journalist Doug Smith for his diligence in his first-hand account of the remarkable natural regeneration in unlogged forests in the years after intense fires (“A return to a past Sierra wildfire to see the future of a recent one,” Dec. 28). As Richard Hutto wrote in his 2025 book “A Beautifully Burned Forest,” “Most of our western mixed-conifer forests were born of, and are now maintained by, periodic high-severity fire.”
Like Smith and Hutto, my family and I have visited these post-fire forests and been awed by the abundance of life in places often erroneously labeled as moonscapes. Here are a couple tips for other prospective visitors: Spring is a great time to see stunning displays of wildflowers in the years after the fire. And the incredible bird diversity found there is most apparent at dawn, when birdsong fills the post-fire forest. Approaching burned forests with curiosity and an open mind can be richly rewarding.
Douglas Bevington, Kensington, Calif.
