The Fire

[Kiara Amarok]

Okay, I'm a budding ecologist as well as a new member of 'Souls. I have heard of the first that caused the packs to move and disband and I know the new territories were revenged by said fire. My question is: What type of fire was it? Was the fire a crown fire, or a ground fire, or a ground fire that resulted in upwelling.?

The reason why I ask this is because the type of fire will depend on how badly the area was damaged and how long it will take for the forests to come back and the type of succession that takes place. A crown fire is a devastating fire that burns at temperatures of over 1,000 degrees centigrade. Crown fires burn the tops of the trees but will also destroy the root systems. After a crown fire, everything is dead and it will result in primary succession that can take up to a hundred years to regenerate (depending on the forest type).

A ground fire on the other hand doesn't burn hotter than 200 degrees centigrade and can even be beneficial to the forests. Ground fires only occur along the underbrush and don't often kill trees. This type of fire results in secondary succession that can take a few years to a couple decades to regenerate (again depending on the forest type).

Upwelling is a fire that starts on the ground and becomes a crown fire. This will result in a diverse amount of damage that leads to both primary and secondary succession.

Hope that is enough explanation for people to understand my question.

[Susquehanna]

The fire was actually set, I believe by Gabriel de le Poer, but only a select few characters know that it was set, and I believe most if not all of them are now dead.

*wanders off to make sure of her facts*

[Zalen Damaichu]

From my understanding the majority of it was a crown fire, because the majority of the trees were consumed.

[Arkham Lykoi]

Thanks for all the info about fires! :O

Logically, it was probably a ground fire. As Katie said, the fire was started purposefully, at ground level. The fire did spread up to treetops, but the majority of the burning would have been on a lower level.

The resulting devastation might be a little off, but I do think we plan to have the land recover in "a few years" rather than "a few centuries" so that again makes a ground fire the more likely categorization.

[Ezekiel de le Poer]

Likewise, I think the only areas that would have suffered from heat close to that of a crown fire would be the old concrete jungle, specifically areas where gas lines/wells were placed. I did reference, in a post that I believe was eaten, Gabriel hearing "explosions" in the city from such an event. So there probably won't be trees in that area for a while, lol.