Bastrop After the Fire

The Friday before TALE I visited Bastrop State Park to see what the park looked like after the 2011 fire.  My last visit was in 2010 so this is my first return trip.

What's surprising are the number of dead trees still standing.  In some ways it looks like a forest in winter...until you remember these are supposed to be pine trees.  Most of the trunks are blackened so it looks very spooky.

However the undergrowth is returning and locals are making a big effort to cut down the dead trees and replant.  The dead trees are falling over and pose a serious safety hazard in the park and surrounding areas.  We drove by many areas with recently cut trees, and the open land was sometimes covered with little red flags.  We later learned that the flags mark the newly planted saplings.