Fire Near Apgar

So I have been to Glacier National Park at least 4 times now and it has become a very memorable place for me.  The first time we were there was in 2003 which was a summer with tons of fires.  We were staying in Apgar and my mom watched as the fire jumped the ridge and burned all the way down to the edge of the lake during the night.  The next morning we got up to an extremely smokey area, but still no evacuation order.  We decided to pack up anyways because we were going around to the other side of the park for the day to get out of the smoke and by the time we got to the other side of the park our hotel had been evacuated.

We went back to Glacier National Park in 2005 and then again in 2008.  In 2005 we went on a walk with a park ranger in the area that had burned and it was amazing to see how much had changed in 2 years.  In 2008 we didn't visit the specific area but you could still see very clearly from Apgar where the fire had burned down to the lake.

Now, in 2015 it is amazing to see how much regrowth has occurred in 12 years.  That area will only keep regrowing and I find it really neat to see the forest go through such an obvious change.  It is amazing to see how fire affects an environment but how it can have positive effects.  I like looking at it in a way where when the area first burned there was almost nothing left.  When things first started regrowing the progress was slow and it took time.  But now, trees are taking root and growing tall again.  I like to look at it as never losing hope even when things look bleak and barren because you never know what can grow and come of the situation.

2003

I got this photo off the web because I couldn't find any that our family took while we were there.

2005

This was what the forest looked like two years later.  It still looked very burned but at least the ground was now covered with green from new growth.

2008

These were taken across the lake, from Apgar when we were back five years after the fire.  You can still see the brown part of the forest where it burned from across the lake.

2015

Sorry I didn't take a better picture looking across the lake at the burned area but it is much less obvious now.

Now, 12 years later, the forest is looking green and like it is growing well again.  The green is prevailing over the black and charred looking things now.  Even though many dead trees still stand above the growing trees you can tell that the new growth is doing well and on it's way to becoming a full size forest.