Thanks, guys.
I'm really hoping that the oak trees will survive this... if they do, I know that getting rid of all the underbrush is a good thing.
Weissguy... I've never been through anything like this... is there anyway to tell if the trees were burned too much? I had been thinking that I needed a controlled burn..... mother nature decided otherwise.
If it's just a light charring of the bark, they will be totally fine. If it burned behind the bark layer, you could lose some. It looks like to me they just got a little bark burn, and should be perfectly fine. You'll know for sure within a month or so.
The upside to this is that you burned a lot of the fuel off of your property should another wildfire threaten within the next several years. It is always a good idea to keep your trees free of a lot of underbrush and what not. Often a "controlled burn" will stop in it's tracks when it hits a well maintained tree or fence row because it actually runs out of quick burning fuel.
Your fields will look great this summer, and you'll have likely burned off any of those volunteer field cedars and other brushy invaders.
You might want to consider a rock garden around your cabin.
Half joking, but that lack of grass around the structure saved it without a doubt.
