Cook's Meadow Tour - Fire: Friend or Foe

Fire crew member igniting a prescribed burn with a drip torch.

Quick Facts

Amenities

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

If we are to improve our ability to better care for our national parks, we must learn from the past. For example, early visitors to Yosemite misunderstood the essential role of fire, viewing it as merely destructive and dangerous and responding to it with alarm and fear. We now understand that suppressing natural lightning-caused fires can ultimately harm the plants and animals that have adapted to it. The place in which you now stand exemplifies the ill effects of past fire suppression policies.

Look at the surrounding old oak trees that are shadowed by taller, neighboring pines and cedars. Weakened from competition for sunlight, the oaks are vulnerable to heart rot, root rot, and predatory insects. Prior to years of fire suppression, natural fires once cycled through portions of the Valley every 15 to 20 years. These fires created conditions in which the oaks would thrive.

Modern scientific research continues to determine how best to simulate natural fire conditions. At present, fire management teams oversee a prescribed fire program that returns fire to each meadow every 5 to 8 years. Fire contributes valuable nutrients to the soil for meadow grasses and sedges and also kills young pine saplings. In the last 150 years, the total meadow area in this Valley has dwindled from over 800 acres to fewer than 400 because of the gradual invasions by surrounding pines and cedars.

Besides periodic fires, meadow and wetland plants need periodic flooding and the formation of high water tables. As you walk to the next stop, see if you can locate sources of water for this environment.