Art Feature: “Loss and Regrowth”

During a recent job as a field technician, I spent time in the burn area of the Beachie Creek Fire, which struck the Lyons-Detroit corridor in August 2020. The fire burned nearly 200,000 acres of old-growth forest, and countless people lost their homes. In the two years that have passed since the incident, however, the scarred hills have gradually grown brighter as foxgloves and other early-successional flora take hold. While wildfires can have devastating effects on human populations—effects that I do not at all intend to diminish—wildfires are a natural part of Oregon’s landscape, and they open up ecological niches for a plethora of wonderful meadow species that cannot tolerate the shady conditions created by old-growth canopies. This photo juxtaposes the human cost of wildfires—embodied by the abandoned, rusted trailer—with the ecological rejuvenation of open skies and ash-rich soil.