Monache Meadows, Chapter 4...McNally Fire

From the Sherman Pass turn off for nearly the intire 32 drive to Black Rock Station, the trees are black skeletons. I could see no evidence of replanting and the new trees that are coming in are a low, brushy scrub oak. The pine trees are gone. This is a bit ugly, however, you can see the granite formations better and some are spectacular. I actually took a Monache trip two weeks before the fire and you would not think it was the same planet after the fire. Ths makes the drive seem longer as it takes longer to get to the "forrest". It sure reminds one not to mess with fire.


According to Forrest Service officials; the 150,700-acre McNally Fire is the largest wildfire in the history of the 1.2 million acre Sequoia National Forest. The wildland fire started Sunday, July 21, 2002, and was 100 percent contained Thursday, August 28, 2002, six weeks after burning on both the Sequoia and Inyo National Forests. The fire also burned 16,800 acres within the Giant Sequoia National Monument and threatened three Giant Sequoia groves: Packsaddle, Long Meadow, and Freeman Creek. The current cost to manage the fire suppression and rehabilitation efforts is in excess of $59 million.