I briefed the former Johnson Creek caretakers (Cody and Gene) regarding how Johnson Creek, Idaho, emerged from this summer's really nasty wild fires. (The newest caretakers, who spent only two months on site before evacuating aren't coming back.) The two-pixel resolution web cam and narrow view don't show anything amiss. This is what I told her:
Lyn and I inspected Johnson Creek last Saturday. We all are very, very fortunate that it was not torched. Fire burned down the west mountain, in many places sort of following the draws and rivulets. Crowning was limited, mostly to the overlook above runway 17 approach. Fire burned the understory brush up to the runway across from the north campground, scorched a few trees, but the outlook from the campground is predominantly green. The closest really bad blackened area surrounds the road just upstream from the Bryant's, in the area of the rapids. The walk to the tepid tub will involve much travel through burn. Looking higher up on the east mountain, there is a large crowned burn, and upstream all the way past Landmark there are many areas that crowned, also a lot of scorched trees from understory fire, but still a predominantly green visage. The worst burns were widespread on the JC drainage.
The South Fork is another story. It's essentially toast from above Warm Lake down to almost Krassl. The valley between s. fork and JC is nearly entirely gone. Nothing but black.
Quite a few trees were thinned out in the campgrounds, so there are many cords of nice rounds distributed about the camps, neatly stacked at each site. Most of the brush in the north camp was cleared out to remove fuel, so when you look out from the shop you can see a long ways north without obstruction.
All facilities are fine, but the place has an unkept look about it with the hasty shut down. A few tables here and there, a bit of trash, and 40 or so plastic bottles on the table by the freezer (removed from the freezer). What could be moved was removed, no equipment's about. And there's 6-7 cords of split firewood still stacked that campers had no opportunity to use. Sort of ironic.
The new couple will have something to take care of. Thank goodness.
John Siebold
Boise, ID
Lyn and I inspected Johnson Creek last Saturday. We all are very, very fortunate that it was not torched. Fire burned down the west mountain, in many places sort of following the draws and rivulets. Crowning was limited, mostly to the overlook above runway 17 approach. Fire burned the understory brush up to the runway across from the north campground, scorched a few trees, but the outlook from the campground is predominantly green. The closest really bad blackened area surrounds the road just upstream from the Bryant's, in the area of the rapids. The walk to the tepid tub will involve much travel through burn. Looking higher up on the east mountain, there is a large crowned burn, and upstream all the way past Landmark there are many areas that crowned, also a lot of scorched trees from understory fire, but still a predominantly green visage. The worst burns were widespread on the JC drainage.
The South Fork is another story. It's essentially toast from above Warm Lake down to almost Krassl. The valley between s. fork and JC is nearly entirely gone. Nothing but black.
Quite a few trees were thinned out in the campgrounds, so there are many cords of nice rounds distributed about the camps, neatly stacked at each site. Most of the brush in the north camp was cleared out to remove fuel, so when you look out from the shop you can see a long ways north without obstruction.
All facilities are fine, but the place has an unkept look about it with the hasty shut down. A few tables here and there, a bit of trash, and 40 or so plastic bottles on the table by the freezer (removed from the freezer). What could be moved was removed, no equipment's about. And there's 6-7 cords of split firewood still stacked that campers had no opportunity to use. Sort of ironic.
The new couple will have something to take care of. Thank goodness.
John Siebold
Boise, ID
