Area Must Act To Prevent Another Catastrophic Fire
By Keith Crummer and Dale Knutsen
After the Storrie Fire, private land manager W.M. Beaty rehabilitated the
land by removing dead trees and replanting one million new trees (in
foreground). The standing dead trees on national forestland (in background)
will fall to the ground in coming decades, creating a deadly fire hazard.
Five years ago, fire swept through private timberland and parts of two national forests in Plumas County, burning 55,000 acres and sending smoke and ash throughout the area. The fire's devastation spanned 15 miles and left an indelible impression on local residents.
That blaze, known as the Storrie Fire, put the beautiful Lake Almanor area at risk and residents on edge for nearly a month until the fire was finally controlled.
In the wake of that event, residents concerned about the vulnerability of the area to catastrophic fire formed the Almanor Basin Fire Safe Council and ultimately produced a local fire plan intended to help improve public safety and reduce fire losses. The document outlines how individuals, businesses and government can take steps to help prevent catastrophic fire. Chief among the recommendations is reducing hazardous fuels that could feed another devastating fire.
One business, W.M. Beaty & Associates, private land managers of 3,200 of the 55,000 burned acres, moved swiftly to remove dead and dying trees lost to the Storrie Fire. By removing the dead trees, Beaty's foresters reduced fire danger and, in the process, harvested enough wood to build nearly 4,300 homes, paid more than five hundred thousand dollars in timber yield taxes on the harvested wood to local government and created jobs for workers.
The removal of the dead trees cleared the way for a rebirth of the forest. Beaty ultimately planted nearly 1 million trees to restore the forest devastated by the fire. Today, we can see a renewed forest, with healthy young trees that now stand as high as 5 feet tall.
Sadly, in the adjacent Lassen and Plumas National Forests, virtually nothing happened to restore the forests after the fire. Only 1,126 acres of the area burned in the Lassen National Forest will have dead trees removed; just 230 acres will be replanted.
Activists intent on derailing restoration blocked efforts to remove trees, preventing the Forest Service from doing its job - protecting and ensuring a healthy forest. Obstructionist delays resulted in the total loss of millions of dollars worth of trees which could have helped reduce our consumption of foreign timber and given a boost to our local sagging economy.
The result is thousands of acres of brush and ready-to-burn kindling that increases the risk of another catastrophic fire. A second fire could quickly sweep through the dead forest, scorching the ground again and sealing a dismal fate for the area by killing any remaining seeds and new life. This inevitable second fire promises to do more damage to soils and watershed than the first.
While efforts of the Almanor Basin Fire Safe Council have led to a reduction in fire hazards in the immediate Lake Almanor area, the lack of restoration in the burned area is both a danger and a lost opportunity to rehabilitate the forest for our community and for the nation at large.
As we look back on the Storrie Fire this month, it is time also for us to look forward and take further action to help our forests - and protect our communities at the same time.
Our federal government has an obligation to care for the forests to which it has been entrusted, regardless of pressures to do otherwise. No longer can we allow obstructionist groups and misguided policies that ignore or twist science to drive decisions about managing our forests.
Just as a garden needs to be cared for, our forests need to be managed. Native American peoples understood this ancient mandate. Today's dense, overcrowded forests must be thinned back to a condition similar to what they were 150 years ago.
To prevent catastrophic wildfire, we need the continued cooperation of local, state and federal government and private landowners to create as many improvements and protections as possible.
Five years ago, our nearby forests were devastated and our community was threatened by the Storrie Fire. Today, it's everyone's job to help prevent a recurrence of that situation. Local, state and federal laws must also be simplified to permit prompt post-fire restoration of burned areas, a very time-sensitive process that cannot be delayed without risk of defeating its basic purpose. You can help by letting your legislators know your feelings, and by keeping your own property fire safe.
Keith Crummer, a former District Ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, has been a professional forester for more than 40 years; Dale Knutsen, a retired aeronautical engineer, is Chairman of the Almanor Basin Fire Safe Council.
Facts about the Storrie Fire
The Storrie Fire ignited near the town of Storrie in Plumas County on August 17, 2000 and was not fully contained until September 27.
Over 55,000 acres burned, putting the community surrounding Lake Almanor at risk. Eighty-six percent of those acres burned on the Plumas and Lassen National Forests; 3,200 of the total acres burned on private forestland managed by W.M. Beaty and Associates bordering the Lassen National Forest.
POST-FIRE ACTION
Forest experts believe that post-fire action should include the timely removal of dead trees, for both ecological and economic benefits. If left on the land, dead trees eventually fall to the ground and become fuel for even more catastrophic inevitable future fires which can sterilize soil and kill any young trees that have been established.
Fire-killed trees also begin to lose their commercial value within six months and substantially decay after two years. Harvesting dead trees while they retain their value can fund restoration of burned areas.
Replanting after wildfire helps ensure that historic forested areas will remain conifer trees. If the planting is delayed for too long after a fire, competitive brush that thrives in post-fire environments can overtake the area and make replanting very expensive or unfeasible.
W.M. BEATY & ASSOCIATES REFORESTATION EFFORTS
Beaty foresters reduced the chance of a future catastrophic wildfire by removing smaller dead trees and woody material from Spring 2001 to Fall 2002. The material generated 30,633 BDT (bone dry tons) of clean biomass fuel, enough to fuel 3,600 homes for a year.
Harvesting of larger dead trees suitable for lumber processing was completed by Fall 2001. Beaty harvested 64.5 million board feet of sawlogs, enough to build 4,300 homes.
Beaty's operations contributed more than five hundred thousand dollars in yield taxes to Plumas County. The jobs created generated million in state income taxes and several million dollars in federal income taxes.
Beaty spent million to reforest the burned land, planting nearly one million seedlings of seven different tree species. Some of these trees are now five feet tall.
W.M. Beaty & Associates, Inc. is based in Redding, Calif. and manages approximately 280,000 acres of family-owned forests in northeastern California. Beaty's lands are certified as well managed under the strict environmental, social and economic standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (http://www.fscus.org/).
WHAT HAPPENED ON NATIONAL FOREST LAND
The Storrie Fire burned about 27,000 acres on the Lassen National Forest. After the fire, the Forest Service removed dead trees and other fuels from 1,206 acres and replanted 230 acres.
The Storrie Fire also burned about 28,000 acres on the Plumas National Forest. After the fire, the Forest Service was not successful in removing dead trees. Replanting occurred on about 181 acres.