Five years of regrowth on the hike to Morrell Falls

Despite the crown fire that went through this area, the understory is flourishing. Fireweed was abundant along with many different grass, forbs and shrubs covering the forest floor. A lot of the trees that died have fallen but there are still many more snags to come down.

A new hiker-created trail takes hikers to this now popular overlook before the first lake. Prior to the fire, the valley-bottom was not visible. Now, the top of the bench offers a bird's eye view of the forest transition five years post-fire. Morrell Creek can now be seen from the overlook, which was merely a trickle in 2017.

The island in the first lake ahead of the falls was still smoking in October 2017. All vegetation appeared dead. However many of the shrubs on the water's edge survived. Grasses and other forbs now cover the understory and seedlings are beginning to come in

The last hill on the right before the lakes experienced high intensity crown fire. The ground is now covered primarily with fireweed and grasses but there are also invasive weeds including thistle and houndstongue that have taken hold in what appeared to be a "moon scape" in 2017.