Fire near hunting area

[greg.alcorn]

I have a late season cow tag in unit 7W in Arizona, and there was a fire recently in the vicinity of where we've tended to focus our hunts in recent years. It didn't burn the area we look at, but it got within 1/2 a mile of the tank that we work around. What kind of an effect should we expect to see on elk we know have been in the area year over year? Will this push them elsewhere, or will stick around?

Thanks in advance!

 

[NeilD]

I've found in areas that I hunt that if there is enough time for regrowth before season, the elk will flock to the burns to eat. I once in an area that burnt that summer and it still looked black from a distance but once I started walking through it there was new grass about 1"-2" tall and elk tracks everywhere. I would focus on the perimeter of the burn where they will have cover where it didn't burn and nutrient rich feed where it did burn. If there hasn't been time for regrowth then that would definitely be my strategy for next year.