A view across the Natchez Fire from Lookout Mountain in the Siskiyou Wilderness. This summer the Natchez Fire burned in and around the Siskiyou Wilderness Area in the backcountry of the Siskiyou Crest. The fire started on July 15, above Takilma, Oregon at roughly 4,400′ in elevation in the Poker Creek Watershed. The fire eventually burned over the ridgeline and into the rugged watersheds in the South Fork of Indian Creek above Happy Camp, California.  With over 100 fires spread throughout the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in mid-July, the Natchez Fire was not a high priority, and being understaffed, it continued to grow in remote and rugged terrain. The sheer number of fires and the proximity of many wildfires to nearby communities overwhelmed fire suppression crews, forcing them to prioritize.  Fires like the Natchez Fire, burning far from residential properties or communities, dropped to the bottom of the priority list. This meant that although...

Despite having no recorded fire history, most of the 2018 Klamathon Fire burned at low and moderate severity in the Soda Mountain Wilderness and Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.  Controversy has erupted in the region this summer regarding wildfire, smoke and forest management. The media, area land managers, many regional politicians, the timber industry and their allies have all been working overtime to manipulate the public’s fear of wildfire, and in particular, anger about wildfire smoke. Some claim that a combination of aggressive fire suppression, manual fuel treatments, prescribed fire and commercial logging will increase “forest health,” while also reducing wildfire occurrence, wildfire severity and smoke.  As someone who has designed ecological restoration projects, taken part in prescribed fire treatments and performed forest thinning adjacent to homes and communities for twenty years, I can support some of these activities in...

A view across the Klondike Fire from $8 Mountain Road to the Squaw Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area north of the Illinois River. Photo taken September 28, 2018. The Klondike Fire began as a natural lightning ignition in some of the wildest, most inaccessible country on the West Coast. The fire started in the Klondike Creek canyon, deep in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, within the vast Biscuit Fire footprint and in exceptionally rugged terrain. The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest aggressively attacked the fire, but could not contain the remote blaze due to a lack of resources, extremely rough and inaccessible country, and very real safety concerns for firefighting personnel.  Cobra lily (Darlingtonia californica) burned in the Klondike  Fire already has new, fresh vegetation. Despite very aggressive fire suppression strategies that created significant environmental impacts and required an enormous investment of taxpayer dollars, the stubborn Klondike...

The Klamathon Fire burned lightly in upper Hutton Creek in the Soda Mountain Wilderness. The Klamathon Fire: Tragedy, Devastation & Natural Fire Mosaic The Klamathon Fire was many different things in different settings. At times, the fire was influenced by high winds and tragically raged through the community of Hornbrook, California, doing great damage as it burned homes and took one person’s life. For all those affected, the Klamathon Fire was no doubt tragic and terrifying. Yet at other times, the fire crept and smoldered, burning at mostly low to moderate severity in the backcountry of the Soda Mountain Wilderness. Ecologically speaking, the fire was beneficial and productive. The impacts to homes, infrastructure and public safety were significant and are important to acknowledge; however, the ecological benefits of the Klamathon Fire have been mostly overlooked.     Skunkbush (Rhus aromatica) vigorously regenerating two months...

Late successional forest like this in unit 3-11 is targeted for logging in the Clean Slate Timber Sale. These fire resistant old forests will be heavily logged, “regenerating” young brushy vegetation that will significantly increase fuel loads and reduce fire resilience. While smoke hangs in the air and fires still burn in the mountains around us, the Medford District BLM has been busy not just fighting fires, but also approving the first timber sales proposed under the 2016 Resource Management Plan (RMP).  Meanwhile, the timber industry, the elected officials that serve them, and public land managers have been busy promoting rhetoric to support their push for “active management,” a supposed panacea to smoke and fire, and a subtle euphemism for industrial logging disguised as “forest restoration.” According to the BLM, implementation of the the 2016 RMP, “will contribute to restoring fire-adapted ecosystems in the dry...