Clouds reflect the dying sun behind Elephant Head in the Santa Rita Mountains. The Florida Fire last July scorched more than 23,000 acres in the mountain range south of Tucson.

Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

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Those of us who love hiking and other outdoor pursuits lost a favorite playground when a wildfire ravaged the Santa Rita Mountains last summer.

Glad tidings: Many trails and recreation sites in the range south of Tucson — including popular Madera Canyon — are once again open to the public.

Not-so-glad tidings: Months of drought have hindered the regrowth of vegetation since the Florida Fire burned more than 23,000 acres of the Santa Ritas in July. And the lack of rain or snow — which normally cause soil, rocks and damaged trees to "settle" in the wake of a fire — means some areas will remain closed indefinitely because of unstable, dangerous conditions.

"The good news is that trails like the Old Baldy Trail and the Super Trail are open as far as Josephine Saddle," said Keith Graves, district ranger for the Forest Service. "We opened those trails in December. And others like the Vault Mine Trail and the Agua Caliente Trail to Josephine Saddle are open."

Also reopened in the months since the fire are the Bog Springs campground, picnic sites and bird-watching areas in Madera Canyon, which escaped the worst of the lightning-caused fire, Graves said.

"But the post-fire effects we're hoping for haven't occurred yet because we haven't had heavy rains and snows," he said.

Rain, snow and freezing weather can help reveal cracked rocks, unstable slopes and damaged trees.

"We need some weather to let the land shift the way it will shift," said Buddy Zale, assistant fire management officer for the Nogales Ranger District, which manages the Santa Ritas. "We need the soils, loose rocks and trees to shift and settle. Everything's still unstable up there."

Because of that instability, which is most severe in higher reaches of the range, trails to the summit of 9,453-foot Mount Wrightson will remain closed at least through this summer, officials said. Wrightson, the highest peak in the range, is one of the most popular hiking destinations in Southern Arizona.

"Mount Wrightson is such a neat place. I'm missing being able to hike up there," said Jim McBride, a member of the Green Valley Recreation Hiking Club. "But the Nature Trail in Madera Canyon and some of the other trails are in good shape. There's still hiking available."

Graves said a decision on opening the Old Baldy and Super trails from Josephine Saddle to the summit of Wrightson could be made after a post-monsoon review of the area.

"They could open this year," he said. "But the soonest would be after the monsoon."

A trail to Wrightson from Gardner Canyon, on the east side of the range, will remain closed indefinitely, officials said.

Graves said the drought has delayed a re-greening of the range.

"Until we get some spring rains, we won't see a major regrowth of vegetation," he said.

Shane Lyman, fire management officer for the Nogales Ranger District, has found a few bright spots.

"A lot of perennial grasses have come back," Lyman said, "and some oaks are resprouting.

"But up in the conifer zone, the fire burned at a higher intensity," he said. "Places like Josephine Peak saw some very high intensity. There aren't a lot of trees left there."

Meanwhile, in largely unscathed Madera Canyon, bird-watchers and innkeepers say post-fire life seems fairly normal.

"As far as I can tell, Madera Canyon hasn't been affected at all for birding," said Karen McBride, who leads bird-watching tours in the canyon for the Tucson Audubon Society and other groups. "I saw a female hepatic tanager, a magnificent hummingbird, painted redstarts, hermit thrushes and other good birds" one day recently.

Luis Calvo, owner of the Chuparosa Inn Bed & Breakfast in the canyon, said business has rebounded after a post-fire slump.

"Business was definitely and significantly down when the trails were closed," Calvo said. "But when the trails started reopening, business started to rebound. We're not suffering at this point from it."