After a forest fire, the woods are charred -- seedlings and saplings are killed, ground cover is burned away, trees are scorched. Years later, the forest is reseeded, greened up, and nature seems to have recuperated. But the trees that have been scarred never recover, often showing wounds like this that give way to infection, stain and decay for the rest of the lifetime of the tree.

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Heat from a fire's flames damages the tree bark. The bark gradually loosens, allowing insects and disease to enter which can weaken or even kill the tree.
Often the tree's wounds are hidden. The silent spread of decay goes unnoticed until the tree is cut and the rot started from the fire scars is exposed.

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"That fire didn't hurt the woods."
How many times have you thought that?
Don't be fooled!

Even though a burned hillside may become green again, there's more damage from a forest fire than meets the eye -- the disguised damage of irreversible decay that has begun inside the remaining trees.
Today's fires lead to the decay of our children's wood supply.
Once a tree's been scorched, there's no way to reverse the decline in wood quality.
The inside of a burned tree looks rotten!
The answer lies in Prevention.
For more information, contact the Kentucky Division of Forestry or your County Extension Agent.