It consumed 22,000 acres, eviscerating chaparral and shrub like match sticks thrown on a camp fire. What's left? Nothing more than ash, dust and charred mountainside.
I'd been on Bell View trail many times recently, ducking into tunnels of the thick shrub that grew in abundance so readily on this coastal mountain range. Now, all gone with the strike of a match.
Fires are a part of nature, they say. Without them, flora doesn't regenerate. Yet, this fire left a brutal path and it is difficult to see it close up.
From Los Pinos Trail - Santiago in background
Rob M looks towards Los Pinos Peak.