The study took place in the Cascade Mountains in central Washington approximately midway between the towns of Ellensburg and Wenatchee. Two adjacent but different-aged stands were burned. Each is described below. Lodgepole pine thicket - Lodgepole pine is the overstory dominant, but subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce are also principal components. Subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce are codominants in the intermediate size classes.
Subalpine fir is the only tree regenerating under the canopy.
Fir and spruce codominate the intermediate size classes, but subalpine fir is the only tree regenerating under the canopy. The climate is typical of most areas within the subalpine zone. The winters are cold and wet and the summers cool and dry. Frost and freezing temperatures can occur during any month of the year. Over 70 percent of precipitation falls as snow between October and March.