Effects of wildfire on salmonid?

[ALarge]

Well, the Great Smokey Mountains are a lot smokier than usual right now. My beloved mountains are on fire. Growing up in Tennessee and in school at UT, the Smokies were always a short jaunt away for some of the best small stream mountain fishing in the world (IMO). 

Seeing all the devastation in and around Gatlinburg and the park, I got to thinking about what might become of the trout population following a large-scale fire like the one raging through the park and surrounding areas. I'm thinking that a deluge of ash and soot will surely find its way into every stream large enough to hold trout. Will the fish and the aquatic insects they eat be able to survive a disaster like this in strong numbers? 

Obviously the brook trout has survived in these mountains for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years of naturally occurring fires.  I'm curious what to expect when I head home in the next several months. 

Any wildlife biologists with an understanding of the issue? 

It looks like one significant non-native fish population is safe: http://www.wbir.com/news/local/fire-surrounds-ripleys-aquarium-thousands-of-animals-left-behind/357623054

V/r

Alex

[Andy Thomas]

http://www.northernrockiesfire.org/effects/aqimme.htm

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/683338

I think you can expect some immediate effects in streams that are directly in the impacted areas.  Obviously some fish will die as will food sources.  However, wildfires have been occurring since the beginning of time and the fish and aquatic species adapt and survive.  In fact, the vegetation and surrounding stream foliage will comeback stronger than ever after a wildfire.  It will take time but it's essentially the circle of life.  It may take a year or several for the stream and area to regenerate but no doubt it will come back better than ever.

The real problem with wildfires is when they are not a natural occurrence but rather caused by people.  Then, it's not in nature's natural cycle and too many fires close together will have a long-lasting negative impact on the area and may change it forever.