Yes, it was a hot fire. Any fire started after the end of the rainy season will be a very hot fire because we get no rain from June until October. Everything is very, very dry.
I've only read little bits and pieces about the use of fire as a tool for farming. I know that land was cleared for farming by the use of fire and there was something about using scorched earth as a farming technique, but I read about that years ago.
I often hear that the Native Americans often used their version of controlled burns to make the forest more healthy and to lessen the danger of an uncontrolled wildfire in this area, but I haven't really studied much about it. My understanding is that they timed their controlled burns around the rainy season, but can't tell you more.
I do know the US Forest Service is using controlled burns around the towns up here to create a safer forest so that defending the towns and property is an easier task. But, at this stage, they are still experimenting with the process.
I also don't know what chemicals are used in the fire retardants that they drop to slow down a wildfire and how they affect the soil.
On the way up the mountain, I could see where property owners had limbed their trees and had cleared the ladder fuels that feed a wildfire, but once we crossed over into Federal lands, nothing of that sort of work was done. Of course, 75% of the land up here is owned by the Feds and there are budget cuts that impact what can and cannot be done.
As for grass seed ... I might think it was a good idea, but I don't know if the soil is fertile enough to support plant life. Even grass.
Smiles,
Lyn
