The Smokey Wire : National Forest News and Views
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These are 2011 views of the A-Rock/Meadow Fire re-burn, within Yosemite National Park, after 4 years of “recovery”. The actual “recovery” time is now at 24 years, since the original A-Rock Fire raged through majestic old growth. You can barely make out the road into Yosemite Valley. You might also notice a lack of any … Read more
Derek tipped me off about the new BAER fire severity maps, yesterday, and I was happy to see that the efforts to thin plantations has resulted in lower fire intensities. Here is the link to both high and low resolution maps. It is not surprising that fire intensities outside of this thinning project I worked … Read more
This is where the Rim Fire “ran out of fuel”, in Yosemite National Park. Kibbie Lake is near the northeast flank of the fire, where there will be no firelines. Ironically, I was planning a hike to this area, a few weeks ago. (I shot this picture while flying with a forestry buddy, back in … Read more
The following article, written by Dr. Chad Hanson, appeared yesterday at the Earth Island Journal. Once again, I’d like to respectfully request that if anyone has questions about the content of the article please contact Dr. Hanson directly. Thanks. – mk The Ecological Importance of California’s Rim Fire: Large, intense fires have always been a … Read more
Great article from July 20, but not news to foresters and tribes: “The Bootleg Fire, The Nation’s Biggest, Gives Scientists An Unexpected Experiment.” Excerpts: Ecologists in a vast region of wetlands and forest in remote Oregon have spent the past decade thinning young trees and using planned fires to try to restore the thick stands … Read more
Here’s a link to a Denver Post story. Below is an excerpt. While the losses to homeowners are immediate and huge, the effect on the county’s tax base won’t be felt until 2014, Larimer County Assessor Steve Miller said. Tax collections in 2012 were based on assessments conducted in 2010. The county will be reassessed … Read more
Nick Smith had an article about t his in his Wildfire News of the Day email today, but the link at the Payson Roundup doesn’t work. This is all I see: “The US Forest Service will remove overgrown brush and saplings on 7,600 acres burned by the Dude Fire in 1990 in an attempt to … Read more
This is a guest post by Sarah Hyden. The Indios Fire in the Jemez Mountains of the Santa Fe National Forest Photo: US Forest Service At midday on May 19th, Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) fire managers were notified of a new wildfire start within the Chama River Canyon Wilderness on the Coyote Ranger … Read more
The essay that forms the second part of this post — which he terms “Notes” — was written by Chad Oliver after a recent field trip to Montana to document and discuss grizzly bear habitat management with Jim Petersen for Evergreen Magazine: https://evergreenmagazine.com/this-is-very-promising/ I have been a friend and occasional collaborator with Jim for more … Read more
This map demonstrates the fireline effectiveness of the 2022 Midnight Fire. The coral color is the 2022 Midnight Fire perimeter;brown is the 2019 Francisquito managed fire perimeter; and red is the 2018 Alamosa prescribed fire perimeter. The analysis shows that when the Midnight Fire ran into the previous burn areas, they contributed to a high … Read more