[oasisbob]

This description is painting with a wide brush across many different western tree species.

A douglasfir forest that burns is going to behave much differently than a late-successional hemlock one.

[DoofusOfDeath]

Why is that? Sap content? I just started reading Hoadley's "Understanding Wood" [0], which has gotten me interested in wood's characteristics.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1561583588/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...

[bcbrown]

Some species are specifically adapted to either be able to survive frequent brush fires, and some even require them for seedlings.

Douglas-fir trees have very thick, insulative bark that prevents the live tissue from dying as readily when there's fire. Sequoia trees have cones that are glued shut by resins that only melt after a hot-enough fire, so they can then land and germinate in burnt-over ground.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotiny

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrophyte

[DoofusOfDeath]

Thanks for explaining! Trees are amazing.