fire damage pine/spruce

[Bombero_4_Loko]

My uncle has some pine and blue spruce trees in the Texas panhandle that took some heavy damage in a wildfire earlier this year. They are showing signs of re-growth, but still look pretty rough. How should we decide if we should keep them or take them out? If we keep them what can we do to help them recover (prune, trim, water, fertilize, etc)? Thanks.

 

[beastmaster]

I know here in So. Calif. our native Pines and Spruce are pretty fire resistent, with thick bark that protects them from fires burning the underbrush around them. The knob cone pine can only seed if the outer cover on the seed is burnt off.
But fire suppression has worked so well that the natural cycle of small brush fires has been broken, allowing more fuel to build up so
that when there is a fire it burns hotter and bigger.
If the Cambien is damaged from heat the tree will have a hard time surviving. If any lower branches are burnt they won't survive and
should be removed.
If their charred around the trunk they probably won't make it. Its a natural response for the tree to start using what ever resources it has left to put out new growth where it can, but if large areas of trunk cambien are damaged( burnt )The tree may never recover to it
original vigor.
At this point about all you can do is monitor them and remove any low burnt branches, and see if nature does her thing. The less you do now the better. The trees are stressed already.
Iv'e seen big old pines and redwoods that had hollows burnt in them and are doing just fine, and Iv'e seen whole stands of pines that never come back fully and end up dying that just had the base scorched.
I would watch them and see what they do next year and see if their going to make it or not.
Good luck Beastmaster

 

[Bombero_4_Loko]

Thanks for the info. I'm headed out there in a few weeks for a family reunion so I might try to post some pictures and see what everyone thinks. For now we will just plan on waiting till next year and go from there.