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September 2011
PARKS & PARTNERS |
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Vegetation or Fuel?
Under the right conditions, all vegetation can be fuel for a wildfire...Vegetation management of all kinds, including fuel reduction, is done August through February to avoid bird nesting season.
Park Fuel Reduction
Crews have been working since 2008 on the Bolinas Ridge Fuel Break, a 5-mile long, multi-year fuel treatment project in west Marin. In redwood forest mixed with Douglas-fir, small diameter trees, dead vegetation, and areas of dense understory are being thinned to create a strategic fuel break where a wildfire would be easier to control.
Community Fuel Reduction
Similar work is being done adjacent to park lands in Tamalpais Valley where residents are removing fuel near homes on private property and community open space, chipping debris, and assessing Sudden Oak Death. This work is supported by a $169K grant through the California Fire Safe Council, matched by $269K of in-kind contributions from Tamalpais Valley Community Services District, Southern Marin Fire Protection District, and Marin County Fire Department.
BANNER PHOTO: Pre-treatment fuel condition near the intersection of Bolinas Ridge Trail and Randall Trail, above the Olema Valley |
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Firefighters Respond to Lightning Fires
National Park Service crews from the S.F. Bay Area are currently assigned to lightning-ignited fires that started with a series of thunderstorms in late August and early September:
Red Cone Complex, Crater Lake National Park - OR
**multiple objectives**
Breckenridge Complex, Kern County / Sequoia National Forest - CA
**suppression objective**
Mother Lode Fire, Mount Hood Natinonal Forest- OR
**multiple objectives**
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What are "Multiple Objectives"?
Protection of life and property is always the first and foremost objective in fire management. "Multiple objectives" includes any other objective such as ecological benefits like promoting biodiversity or natural fuel reduction. |
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The S.F. Bay Area is too heavily populated to manage unplanned lightning fires, but when we have them, it reminds us that fire is part of the coastal ecosystem.
Instead, we plan prescribed fires under specific weather conditions:
See overview of all burns planned for 2011.
ABOVE: Red Cone Complex at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. Of the 17 fires ignited by lightning in late August, 3 are being mangaged for ecological benefits. These fires do not threaten life or property, and are expected to burn until they are naturally extinguished later inthe season by cooler, wetter condtions. |
