Intense fires that race through the crowns of trees leave behind a threadbare forest of blackened trunks. Grasses needed for grazing allotments are gone. Plans for grazing sheep or cattle in traditional areas must be abandoned at least temporarily. But as black as the outlook is, Barkley said, the post-fire scene can also be deceptive. Light fires may burn away cured grass but stimulate roots to produce tender and nutrient-rich new growth.
Fires can reset the clock for shrubs that had grown too tall and unpalatable for wildlife.
Fire can provide landowners with a chance to replant with trees better suited to a site, or to begin the process of restoring western white pines to areas the trees once covered before white pine blister rust devastated stands. Rangeland fires raise a different set of complicated questions. Ken Sanders, a UI rangeland ecologist, suggests that standard practices may need rethinking. On the subject of perennial grasses, Sanders said it may not be necessary to wait two or three years to return livestock to burned ranges. Timing of the burn may be the most important factor.