Bench Lake After The Fire
Bad damage in this section on the ridge above Redfish Lake
This year has been a bad year for fires in my home mountains, the Sawtooths. For many years, as I have hiked there I have been worried. There is a lot of down timber and also a lot of dead trees, killed by pine beetle infestations. The area was ripe for a big forest fire and this summer it finally happened.
Twice.
The Bench Lake Fire, which started near the second Bench Lake, burned down towards Redfish Lake and caused the lodge to be evacuated. It had to close down for two weeks. Fortunately the fire was stopped at the road just short of the lodge buildings. The fire didn't burn a very large area, but it's one that is particularly beautiful and very special for hikers like me. In August, not long after the fire was out, I did a scouting trip to check out the damage that had been done. At that time the Bench Lake Trail was still closed and I could only hike the Marshall Lake Trail and view the damage from a distance.
Sign on the Bench Lake Trail
Sadly, while I was driving home, I spotted a smoke plume near Grandjean. It was the beginning of the Wapiti Fire burning in the canyon of the South Fork of the Payette River, which had been started by lightning just the day before. That fire eventually spread all the way around the northern end of the Sawtooth Range, into the Stanley Valley and down the east side of the range, almost reaching the town of Stanley. Now, in October, I went back again to see just how bad the devastation was.
This time the Bench Lake Trail was open, although there was an ominous warning sign near the start. In government legal-speak, it basically said "enter at your own risk". In other words, if you die, don't get mad at us. We told you so.
In spite of the warning, I bravely did the familiar hike to the Second Bench Lake, one that I have done many times before. There were some areas that were badly damaged by the burn, especially parts of the ridge above Redfish Lake. Also some slopes in the Fishhook Creek drainage, especially on the north side of the ridge separating it from Redfish Lake, had been hit hard. Other areas along the way had damage, but were not totally burned. A lot of trees had were scorched, but still had some green or brown needles on them. Reading about it afterwards, I found out that sometimes those trees can recover just fine. Other times they are already dead. We'll have to wait and see over the next couple of summers just how bad it is and how quickly it recovers.
Classic view of the Second Bench Lake
Fortunately some places weren't touched, and those were some of the prettiest. In the area where the trail makes the final climb up to the lakes, the forest was still green and healthy. So was most of the area around the first two lakes, even though that is where the fire started. Undoubtedly it was some backpacker who was camping at the second lake who was careless with their campfire.
So my bottom line is, yes, the fire caused some serious damage. It didn't destroy everything, and fortunately there was less damage than I had expected. The Bench Lakes Trail is still worth hiking, although you do pass through some areas of devastation. Perhaps that will be a reminder of how precious the beautiful green areas are, and how we have to do everything that we can to protect them. Meanwhile, enjoy them while we can.
