|
< back
9/20/2005
Healthy Forests Help Stop Crown Fires
The sharp line in the aerial photograph is obvious, abrupt and dramatic: Black forest on one side, Green canopy on the other. "It tells the whole story right there," said Ron Hvizdak. "When you look at that, there's no question that it works. People see it, and they know."
Hvizdak has known for years: A healthy forest can sometimes stop a crown fire.
As fire management officer on the Kootenai National Forest, he's been using fire to fight fire for decades, but never has he had such stark proof that his effort works.
Critics have argued the notion of thinning could too easily be co-opted by business interests wanting to log more big trees. They've argued the forest will sort itself out if left to its own devices.
But on this thin line in the woods, the proof is hard to dispute. The Camp 32 fire cooked bright and hot on lands not thinned and burned, then left a mosaic of scorched grass on Hvizdak's 600 acres, still dotted with about 70 big trees per acre.
When the Camp 32 wildfire blew up on adjacent national forest land this summer, it raged unchecked through the crown, killing pretty much all the trees in its path.
Then it hit that 600 acres - all that separated the fire from a neighborhood of rural homes just over the ridge. And it stopped.
Flame lengths that had reached hundreds of feet, running high through the crown, dropped down to 6 inches, maybe a foot. The fire smoldered along the forest floor, slowly, gently, giving crews a chance to stomp it out and mop it up.
"That's why a fire like this is so good," Hvizdak said from his patch of green across the line. "It shows people that what we're doing is working. It's the proof we need people to see if we're going to gain their trust and support.
"Look around. It works."
The above excerpts are from an article written by Missoulian reporter, Michael Jamison. Jamison may be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or mjamison@missoulian.com . The full article is available online at the Missoulian’s web site. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service.
|
