Fire Ecology on the B&B Fire Complex

by Conner (grade 7)

As part of our Field Studies class we took a trip up to the top of Santiam Pass.  The point of the trip was to learn about the B&B Complex Fire and how we can prevent large fires in the future.  We went to an information kiosk that had information about the B&B Complex Fire with explanations of what happened and why.  The students liked seeing a map with a timeline of the B&B Complex Fire and it’s growth.

Next we went on a hike in one of the areas that was burnt to see how it how it has grown back, and how different the fire burnt in some of the areas.  We saw lots of snow brush and manzanita.  In some of the areas almost all the big trees survived and in other areas almost all the life was sucked out of it.  

This trip was on the day of the first snow of the year.  So we hiked in about four inches of snow.  We had a bit of time to play in the snow too. Overall it was a fun day and we learned a lot about how fires have effected our community.