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...

The 2018 Taylor Creek Fire as seen from the headwaters of Pickett Creek. KFA will be exploring this fire as part of a new Klondike and Taylor Fire Report. www.klamathsiskiyoufirereports.org Klamath Forest Alliance (KFA) would like to announce our new website highlighting the Klamath-Siskiyou Fire Reports. Our Klamath-Siskiyou Fire Reports track local wildfires, document their fire effects, and the environmental impacts associated with fire suppression activities.  Since 2012, we have conducted detailed analysis and on-the-ground monitoring of ten separate fires throughout the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains. We have utilized case studies in the Klamath River Watershed, the Wild and Scenic Rogue River, the Kalmiopsis region, in the Applegate Valley and on the Siskiyou Crest. All our fire reports can now be found in one place at: klamathsiskiyoufirereports.org Our reports document a pattern of damaging fire suppression activities and beneficial wildfire effects on...

The Taylor Creek Fire burned into the famous Hellgate Canyon on the Wild and Scenic Rogue River at low to moderate severity, leaving most of the conifer overstory intact. The Taylor Creek Fire burned this summer in the mountains west of Grants Pass, Oregon. The fire burned through a diverse mosaic of mixed conifer forest, oak woodland, mixed hardwood stands, serpentine savanna, and rugged serpentine barrens. The Taylor Creek Fire has burned 52,838 acres and is 95% contained.  The fire began on July 15 in a large lightning storm that lit fires throughout southern Oregon. The Taylor Creek Fire was one of many fires in the area, but it outpaced many of the local fires, burning roughly 20,000 acres in the first week. By early August, the Taylor Fire had merged with the Klondike Fire as it burned east from the Illinois River canyon. Large tactical firing operations occurred on the long ridgelines connecting the Illinois River to Onion Mountain above the Illinois Valley....

Last year Azalea Lake in the Red Buttes Wilderness burned at mixed severity in the 2017 Miller Complex Fire.  The 2018 fire season has been very active in southern Oregon and northern California, with both lightning and human caused fires burning across the region. Domesticated landscapes and urban areas, as well as wildlands and wilderness areas have burned, filling the canyons and valleys with smoke.  At times, the fires have burned slowly, creating low to moderate-severity fire effects. At other times, wind and weather-driven runs have scorched the forest canopy, spread quickly and burned with intensity. The result is a diverse mosaic of mixed-severity fire, creating complex structural conditions, a variety of plant communities, staggered successional stages and uniquely biodiverse and abundant post-fire landscapes.  Although the 2018 fire season has been tragic due to the loss of life and the burning of many homes, much of the backcountry fire...