So what now?

[eriks.]

Just read the heads up thread on the CO fire that might put Weminuche Wilderness out of touch for this season. This is where I was making my plans for this coming season.

Any suggestions on wilderness areas to hunt in CO if worse comes to worse?

I would love to be able to still have a non-motorized area to hunt but maybe I'll have to go to plan "b".

[lang]

I would imagine that the fire will do nothing but help. Still two months till season burns should be an elk magnet with lots of tender new shouts sprouting by sept. with lots more visibility. I'm in north Idaho and recent burns are the first place we head in the fall.

[buglmin]

Do you guys think new grass grows that quick after a major fire? You need lots of rain first, and then with you rain, you worry bout mud slides, then you gotta worry bout the water and the water supply...It wont be till next year that you have elk and deer in the area, wont have the necessary glass and water needed.
I dont know where You plan on hunting in the Nuche, but you need to know that onve you cross the divide trail, youre in GMU 76, which is draw unit. And unless youre going in above Vallecito Lake north of Bayfield, you dont have a lot of area to hunt before you get to the divide trail and GMU 76...

[tdiesel]

I agree with buglmin the fire is extremely too hot it's gonna kill the root system. I suppose they will go in and drop seed bales like in forests past but where the fire is now I really don't think anything will be there for a couple years maybe next fall then it will be a magnet but if the fires get too hot it kills the sod, isolated patches may survive but as a whole it's too hot. I was about 2 miles away and could feel the heat any water dropped evaporated before it hit the fire. Red retardant is the only shot but high winds are keeping the planes limited fly time now

[eriks.]

I dont know where You plan on hunting in the Nuche, but you need to know that onve you cross the divide trail, youre in GMU 76, which is draw unit. And unless youre going in above Vallecito Lake north of Bayfield, you dont have a lot of area to hunt before you get to the divide trail and GMU 76...[/quote]

Yep, buglmin, for sure aware of unit boundaries. I guess for a mid-westerner, all that area in the northern part of 751 looks pretty big. Maybe it's like a backyard for westerners. lol I'm afraid my poor ol' body is only gonna be able to cover so much territory.

I just hope that all the people living in the area are going to be safe and keep their property intact.

[Herb]

In 2011,I hunted within the perimeter of the Wallow Fire that burned in AZ and NM. That blaze was contained right around July 4 once the monsoon rains came in. The roads were reopened just before my hunt, as they deal with the snags that need removed and flooding the burned areas are prone too. The area was full of elk, feeding on the new grass that was coming back. There were areas that burned hot and there was little coming back. Those areas also had the thicker tree canopy, so there was probably less grass to begin with. It was my first time to be in a area so soon after a fire, it was very interesting to see how things go about recovering. Watch out for the burned out stump holes and the flash floods come quick, some extra caution is necessary.

Best of luck to everyone dealing with them first hand.

[eriks.]

Thanks Herb.