Aspen-area forests took a beating this year from drought and hot temperatures while parts of Basalt Mountain suffered severe enough fire damage that it could take centuries for some vegetation types to recover, according to an assessment by Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. ACES released its annual State of the Forest Report on Friday. …Blue spruce and subalpine fir destroyed by the fire are unlikely to bounce back quickly, if at all, McCurdy said. Lodgepole pines have adapted differently to fire and depend on it to open their seeds. Aspen trees tend to bounce back well and there’s potential they could spread on the mountain, McCurdy said. The recovery is going to show how forests are dynamic places where change happens in spurts, he said.