Last summer, the French Gulch Fire
in Shasta County burned 13,000 acres of land and destroyed nearly 30 homes. Wildfire is at
the top of threats to Siskiyou County communities in the Wildland Urban Interface or WUI
(pronounced woo-ee.) These are communities surrounded by forests or brush. Over the past
several decades, the West has seen a decrease in snowpack by about 60%, an increase in air
temperature, and an increase in the numbers of folks living in the WUI. Since about 1987,
there has also been an increase in wild fire size and intensity.
There are many brochures available to homeowners on how to trim,
thin, brush, rake, and plant fire resistant landscapes around their homes. Measures
include removal of firewood stacks from decks, replacing wood shake roofs, making sure
address numbers and road signs can be clearly read, and providing a large water tank on
site.
Many communities throughout the county have also taken a step forward
in reducing risks to residents by forming local fire safe councils (FSC.) With the help of
the Fire Safe Council of Siskiyou County, the U.S. Forest Service and California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, neighborhoods are identifying water resources
for fighting fire; access roads that need to be cleared for safe evacuation; shared
buildings, structures and drinking water sources that need community protection. They are
also helping their neighbors reduce their fire risk with volunteer work crews.
FSCs have also identified opportunities to work with federal land
managers and private landowners to create shaded fuel breaks around communities. These
thinned bands of forest drop and slow the progress of any wildfires. Many of the FSCs have
been successful in obtaining grants for equipment, such as wood chippers, and for
contracting crews to clear and burn brush. You can see some of these projects and find
local FSC contact information on the internet at www.firesafesiskiyou.org
Recently, I attended a regional fire safe conference in Mt. Shasta
where I met FSC coordinators from throughout northern California. Carl Skinner, Ph.D. of
the Pacific Southwest Research Station gave a presentation on the Black’s Mountain Experimental
Forest north of Lassen. The forest is about 10,000 acres in size. It was split up into 8
plots of 250-300 acres each. Each of these was managed in a different way. Some had all
trees removed smaller than 18 inches in diameter; some had all larger and smaller trees
removed, leaving only the middle sized trees; half were grazed; and half were treated with
prescribed burns. There were also some natural areas that had never been touched. The experiment illustrated the structural
differences in the forest created by the various treatments.
In the fall of 2002, lightning started the Cone Fire. As luck would
have it, the fire headed right for the Experimental Forest - providing a real life test of
how the various managements performed under wildfire conditions.
Comparisons showed that the untreated areas had almost a 100% tree
mortality. When the fire hit the area that was thinned, but had no prescribed burn, the
fire slowed and dropped to the ground - with about a 40-50% tree mortality. In the area
where smaller trees had been removed, the fire moved very slowly with a low intensity burn
through the pine needles on the ground. The fire completely died out at the border of the
area that had been thinned with a prescribed burn treatment. The dramatic photos of these
results can be seen on the internet at http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/5098/5200.pdf
If you are interested in forming a Fire Safe Council in your
neighborhood, contact Dale and Giselle Nova at 926-5071 or Jim Villeponteaux at 462-4665. |
