Q: We have several eight-year-old maple trees at the fire station I work at. As you can see, they look rough. My best guess as to what happened to them is they were severely scorched last spring. Another crew burnt the grass, and did so very carelessly. They allowed the fire to spread into the pine straw that was surrounding the trees; it scorched the bottom 12 inches or so.

A:I don’t hold out much hope for their recovery.

Looks like the fire was hot enough to burn through the bark or boil the sap underneath. The trees will probably die a slow death. Keep them watered in summer to give them the best chance of surviving.