PreFire Intervention Thinning and Prescribed Burning

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Pre-Fire Intervention - Thinning and Prescribed
Burning

• In recent times, we have gone from keepers of
  the flame to custodians of the combustion
  chamber.
• Stephen J. Pyne 2005

This project supported in part by the National
Science Foundation. Opinions expressed are those
of the authors and not necessarily those of the
Foundation.
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Fire exclusion has dominated wildfire policy
NCSR
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USDA Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest
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Predicted Fire Behavior in Treated vs. Untreated
Areas
USDA Forest Service
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USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research
Station
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..the baseline reference condition of forest
stand conditions that evolved from regularly
occurring, low intensity surface burning.
USDA Forest Service 2000
USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research
Station
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Northwesterly view showing cleanup operations on
the Lick Creek timber sale. USDA Forest
Service 1983
USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research
Station
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Historical conditions immediately before partial
timber harvest
USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research
Station
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Overgrown stand
USDA Forest Service
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Current Situation Many Acres of Overgrown Forest
With Significant Wildfire Hazard
USDA Forest Service
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• Re-introducing fire wont solve all the
• problems. It is not an ecological pixie
• dust that you can sprinkle over a forest
• and the threat is gone. That would be
• like dropping wolves into a Denver
• mall.
• Stephen J. Pyne
• Arizona State University

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USDA Forest Service
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Biscuit Fire SW Oregon 2002

• Post-fire assessment
• of three treatments
• Thinned and under-burned
• Thinning only
• Untreated

Keith Lannom, USDA Forest Service
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Aftermath of a High Intensity Fire
Effect of Thinning and Prescribed Burning on
Fire Severity in Ponderosa Pine Forests(Pollet
and Omi 2002 )
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Effects of Fuel Treatments on Fire
SeverityHayman Fire, Colorado
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Wildfire Management in the Wildland-Urban
Interface (WUI)
USDA Forest Service Tahoe National Forest
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• Insert map of angora fire

Governors Office of Emergency Services -
California
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Steve Wilhelm
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(No Transcript)
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USDA Forest Service Tahoe National Forest
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State of California Emergency Services
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Angora Fire Fuel Treatments

• Untreated Stands (1366 acres)
• Dense, multistoried stands with abundant ladder
  fuels
• Treated Stands (480 acres)
• Less dense stands with fewer small trees,
  dominated
• by large Jeffery pines

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SOS Forests
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Angora Fire Fuel treatment effectiveness
Treated areas 84 burned with surface fire, 16
burned as crown fire
Untreated areas Most burned as crown fire,
consuming 95-100 of tree crowns and surface
vegetation
USDA Forest Service Tahoe National Forest
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A New Strategy for Reducing Wildfire Effects
USDA Forest Service Tahoe National Forest
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What conditions optimize the effectiveness of
mechanical thinning?

• Select forests that are too dense to re-introduce
  fire.
• Emphasize those forest types that are
  characterized by high frequency, low severity
  fires.
• Conduct thinning as one step in a broader
  ecological restoration.
• Concentrate on those areas where risk is
  greatest.
• Assure that markets are available for small
  diameter trees.

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Prescribed Fire

• Fire is the embodiment of
  uncertainty, and playing with it is just
  what Mama said.
• William deBuys 2004

State of Oregon Governors office
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Expected Outcomes of Prescribed Fire

• Reduction in quantity and continuity of fuels
• Reduction in surface fire intensity
• Reduction in damage to tree crowns
• Ecological effects (i.e., improved fertility,
  increased germination of fire-dependent species,
  increased biological diversity)

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Definitions

• Prescribed fire a fire that is intentionally
  set to meet management objectives
• Prescribed natural fire a lightning-caused fire
  that is allowed to burn to meet management
  objectives

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Cerro Grande Fire New Mexico 2000
NASA Earth Observatory
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NASA Earth Observatory
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Prescribed Burning
USDA Forest Service Tahoe National Forest
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Plantation Thinning and Prescribed Burning
USDA Forest Service Tahoe National Forest
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What conditions optimize the effectiveness of
prescribed burning?

• Forests have moderate to low tree densities and
  ladder fuels
• Prescribed burning is conducted in the context of
  a broader ecological restoration
• Slopes are too steep for mechanical thinning
• Adequate funding and knowledgeable personnel are
  available
• Air quality concerns are addressed
• Appropriate timing

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The Effects of Vegetation Management
USDA Forest Service Tahoe National Forest
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The National Fire Plan

• Developed to effectively respond to
• severe wildland fires and their impacts
• to communities
• Increased firefighting capacity
• Rehabilitation
• Hazardous fuels reduction
• Community assistance

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The Healthy Forests Restoration Act

• Promotes forest thinning as a way to reduce
• the probability of catastrophic wildfire
• Benefits
• Restores overstocked young stands to more
  appropriate densities
• Reduces "fuels" in young stands
• Reduces fire probability in areas of human
  structures
• Allows timber sales on public lands
• Boosts local economies

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The Healthy Forests Restoration Act

• Concerns
• Will mature and old growth forests be
  "off-limits"?
• Is it economically feasible?
• Will thinning be emphasized near human
  structures?
• Does thinning reduce the probability of
  catastrophic fire?
• Areas of Agreement
• Both economic and non-economic values of
  overstocked young stands will likely increase in
  response to thinning.
• Thinning near human structures should be
  emphasized.
• Old growth resources on public lands should be
  protected.

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Summary

• Thinning and prescribed fire are useful
  tools in the reduction of wildfire
  impacts.
• Effectiveness varies with forest type
  and conditions.
• Role in ecological restoration
  requires additional research.

USDA Forest Service
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Photo Credits

• Chronicle Lance Iverson
• Governors Office of Emergency Services
  California www.oes.ca.gov
• NASA Earth Observatory
• SOS Forests www.sosforests.com
• State of California Emergency Service
  www.hazardmitigation.oes.ca.gov
• Steve Wilhelm www.flickr.com
• USDA Forest Service
• Tahoe National Forest
• Rocky Mountain Research Station
• Keith Lannom