Over the past 2 weeks, lightning has ignited many fires in NW California and Western Oregon and several have become large. This video provides an overview of some preliminary imagery showing how hot the fires burned in different areas, and the reasons for the variety of effects. We talk about factors affecting differences in fire severity and what burn patterns can tell us about past land management or fire history. We also talk about what burn patterns can teach us about past land management mistakes or about how to plan for more fire-resilient forests in the future.
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Cover photo by Will Harling – Klamath River
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If you are really interested in learning about wildfire, this is the best The Lookout ever.
If an area won't reforest in a lifetime, the trees that died were encroaching on non-forested habitat.
Lots of serpentine north of Hwy 199, so much of that area especially mid slope and on the ridges has never really been forested as many think about this region. More shrubs and grasses likely found in those areas that Sentinel satellite imagery is showing higher severity. Additionally, judging tree mortality immediately after a fire based on satellite imagery can be very misleading. Many trees can recover from significant crown scorch and be green the following spring because the cambium and the roots are unharmed.
I'm not by any means an expert on this, but have some thoughts on the imagery and conclusions about fire intensity. Some of the "red" in the satellite imagery might also be due to pre-existing open soil and rock, if I understand the infrared coloration. Much of the area of the Smith River Complex is on ultramafic (meaning high in magnesium and iron) rocks, such as serpentinite, with pockets of thinner soils. While the substrate is not continuous across a large landscape surface, substantial areas on ultramafic rocks or derived soils typically don't support dense forests, with reduced tree cover, extensive zones of scrub (e.g., manzanitas, ceanothus, chinquapin, coffeeberry, toyon, etc.), and open zones of herbaceous cover and bare rock and soil; the soil or rock may be "red" (visible light spectrum) due to oxidized iron on ultramafic substrates. Anyone with more experience or expertise, please comment on my interpretations of soils and substrate effects on infrared imagery.
Great comment on re-forestation and about the carefully considered decisions necessary for success. I've seen many "re-forestation" or "restoration" projects attempt to grow trees at sites that have not historically supported a canopy predominantly comprised of trees, as Zeke has noted: because of short fire return intervals, logging history, slope pitch and aspect, substrate type, soil depths. "Millions of trees planted" can be a misleading promotional pitch when hundreds of thousands of those "trees" never get beyond life as a seedling.
I’m so sorry I missed this live Zeke. I have so many questions. I would love to hear more about your dad’s activist experiences. I did some activist work in my 20s. Primarily I did a lot of letter writing and phone calls. It was the 70’s and we had far less information readily available. I had a very dear friend who planted trees for the Oregon forest service when he was in college in the early 70s. He ended up with cancer throughout his body and died before he was 50 leaving behind five kids and a wife. I always felt it was due to the herbicides he was exposed to planting trees.😢 Thank you so much for the stories and the education.🙏🏻
It seems that the possibly the start of reforesting on these slopes that will likely re-burn hot again would be to start with native plants that tend to come back from their roots systems after fire and be more fire resistant generally plus tolerate or even prefer less water. Manzanitas that can tolerate the rain amounts, coffeberry, some sages, the Madrone family, Toyon come to mind. Are you aware of anywhere that’s been attempted rather than mass tree planting?
To quote the late, great Gilda Radner, 'If it ain't one thing it's another.' Today interior Humboldt County has flash flood warnings. 😕
Your discussion can include almost endless subjects. One consideration on reforestation is the constraints on management of public versus private ownership. I know you could spend a couple of hours on that alone.
Sure wish you would use a term other than "Agent Orange." It's got so much emotional baggage. Even glyphosate would be better. Boy, you said it about the owl and management being turned off like from a light switch. Was on the Siuslaw when the Mapleton District was the first to be shut down. In that area, it was the pot growers who were complaining, using the Spotted Owl as an excuse.
Thank you for this.