Effective assessment and management of fire damaged trees

With the recent tragedy of the Lilac fires comes the damaged environment and charred rolling hills of Bonsall and south Fallbrook. Within the landscape, many trees that beautifully dot the communities have been damaged and the question is what to do?

Within a few days, the sight and sounds of the buzzing chainsaws and chippers will be a common occurrence as people attempt to clean up the damage and move forward with their lives. With the loss of trees comes emotions from the loss of personal property. Animals and their lives become temporarily shocked, and some decisions are not necessarily the best choice for the recovery of trees.

The recovery of trees begins with an assessment of the damage. Defoliated and charred trees may not be dead at all. Time provides the opportunity for the telltale signs of the life and death of a tree and how it should be treated. There are many additional factors to evaluate as to fire damage on all plant materials

An assessment starts with careful observations, identifying species, cracked limbs, burnt bark and exposed wood. Irrigating the soil with a drip line is critical to keep moisture in the viable root zone. Some species do not recover once defoliated such as certain pines and coniferous trees. Others slowly recover such as our native oaks and sycamores. The continuing drought has placed a number of trees into a water-stress mode making them prone to additional problems.

Fire damaged trees should not be pruned immediately. Far too often anxious people get out the saws and cut down the trees where there might be a chance of life. Evaluations should be made on a tree by tree basis and are important.

Recovery of fire damaged trees is not problem free. Structural defects are common due to large columns of interior damaged heart wood that can lead to failure and branch breakage in time. Trees that are stressed by fire damage can also be prone to invasive insects and pathological diseases that cause other arboricultural problems. Recovery of fire damaged trees is not a quick fix and can potentially become an extended process.

Roger Boddaert, maker of natural gardens, can be reached at (760) 728-4297.