Forest fire photos - near Scalplock Lookout

Panchromatic black-and-white images from 1935 of typical forest types before and after forest fires, near Scalplock Lookout and Double Mountain in Glacier National Park, MT, USA. All of the text below was submitted by the original photographer.

# 1. Western Slope, Scalplock Mountain.

1. Foreground - 1910 burn reproduction

2. Center, middle distance - 1931 reburn of 1910 reproduction.

3. Slopes of mountains - shows reburns in 1931 and 1910 burn growth.

4. Southeast slopes of mountain in center and both mountains at sides of picture show the results of 1910 burns following previous burns. (Note lack of reproduction during past 25 years.)

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# 2. Western Slope, Double Mountain (Illustrative of appearance and condition of forests).

1. In foreground - reproduction following single fire in 1910.

2. Lower slopes on western quarter of picture from azimuth 300-270 (upside down) - reproduction from 1910 burn.

3. Upper slopes of mountain on right of picture - shows a reburn in 1910 and 1929 (partial) of an area burned about 1900.

4. Center of photograph, azimuth 270-230, covered with snags - shows a reburn in 1929 of the 1910 burn.

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# 3. Looking down slope of Scalplock, south and west.

1. Foreground - 1931 burn in mature forest (Dickey Creek fire).

2. Unburned forest on flats.

3. Reproduction following 1910 fire on hills, except one to the right, which is a 1931 reburn of the 1910 burn.

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# 4. Mature forest near Scalplock Mountain. A beautiful stand of spruce, larch, Douglas fir, western white pine, white fir, western yew and juniper. The duff is deep; there are plentiful reproduction and much wild life. Many of these3 trees are over 300 years old. A beautiful forest. This photograph was taken on the edge of a 1931 burn.

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# 5. Glacier National Park - Closeup of reproduction on 1910 burn. The majority of the reproduction is western larch with a few Douglas firs. A change from the former normal species distribution on the area.

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# 6. 1931 burn following previous fire in 1910, near base of Scalplock Mountain. Note lack of any forest reproduction. A few western larch mature trees still survive and may reseed parts of the area to a limited extent. However, it will be centuries before a normal mature forest is restored. Note also the large volume of potential fuel standing and on the ground, which also impedes access to the area, and the rotten wood, which is susceptible to ignition by sparks, to spread spot fires.

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# 7. This is a closeup of the slopes of Scalplock severely burned late in the 19th century, followed by a reburn in 1910. There is practically no reproduction over large areas. The brush is fairly heavy in places, but in general it is quite denuded, with mineral soil exposed. No forest tree reproduction is growing on the area, despite the 25 years that have elapsed since the last fire.

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# a. unlabeled.

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Photographs courtesy of Glacier National Park archives.