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| The Classic Firefinder / Courtesy USDA Forest Service |
Having fire history information for your area through fire
occurrence maps, tree ring studies, and deep sediment drilling is something almost
everyone appreciates. But when it comes
to wildland fire research and management history, are we less than enthusiastic
about the past? Do we discount “old”
information? Are we trapped in the here
and now, and hyperfocused on the future? Below are some classic resources for your perusal. Expand your perspective with this "old" information while keeping in mind that the science of wildland fire is still young!
In 1954, George Byram from the USFS Southeastern Research Station wrote a paper titled Atmospheric Conditions Related to Blowup Fires. He explains the wind patterns on fires such as Mann Gulch and Rattlesnake.
Also from the Southeast is a 1973 paper by Wade and Ward, An Analysis of the Air Force Bomb Range Fire. The 1983 paper about horizontal vortices and The Mack Lake Fire in Michigan by Simard et.al.,is also a great read. And don't forget the Haines Index which is still in use today.
We’d also like to draw your attention to the Summer 2003 issue of Fire Management Today - Wildland Fire Behavior Case Studies and Analyses: Part 1. You'll find great information cover to cover.
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| Wildland Firefighter training circa 1939 in the Umatilla National Forest / Courtesy USDA Forest Service |
And I would be remiss if I did not mention another Clive Countryman (1974) publication - Can Southern California Wildland Conflagrations be Stopped? Rule of thumb from my younger days: Southern California chaparral burns every 30 years. Is creation of an age mosaic in chaparral the way to prevent fires? What do you think? Is the idea still valid? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.
Keep Smilin’,
Joint Fire Science Program
Dear Tim-
ReplyDeleteWe love the blog and your reminder about the historic and continuing importance of seminal research papers in the older literature.
We are very interested in revisiting the papers you referred to "Atmospheric Conditions Related to Blowup Fires. (George Byram, 1954), An Analysis of the Air Force Bomb Range Fire (Wade and Ward, 1973), The Mack Lake Fire (Simard et.al, 1983), the Haines Index (Haines, 1988), and Wildland Fire Behavior Case Studies and Analyses: Part 1.(Fire Management Today, 2003)"
This is one of the reasons that we are including publication briefs of older papers on the webpage of the California Fire Science Consortium
http://www.cafiresci.org/csc-resources/
But we have to admit that it was disappointing to read your note on the 1974 Countryman publication.
"And I would be remiss if I did not mention another Clive Countryman (1974) publication - Can Southern California Wildland Conflagrations be Stopped? Rule of thumb from my younger days: Southern California chaparral burns every 30 years. Is creation of an age mosaic in chaparral the way to prevent fires? What do you think? Is the idea still valid? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below"
The Countryman paper does a great job of laying out the wildfire problem in southern California and we will certainly add it to our list for publication briefs. Our concern is with respect to the questions you asked.
Putting aside the last 20 years of scientific research about the southern California fire regime, the 2007 southern California firestorms that reburned major portions of the 4-year old 2003 southern California fire footprints should have - on their own - laid to rest forever the idea that a vegetation age mosaic could stop major wind-driven chaparral fires. We still have the same wildfire problem in southern California that we had in 1974 when Countryman wrote this article, only worse. We understand now why the solution he proposed in 1974 will not work and people are working to find a better solution. We think it is dangerous to hold on to these beliefs about mosaics that are not supported by the science. For example, not only is creating mosaics not effective in Santa Ana conditions, potentially leading to a false sense of security about the ability to control fires, but there is already too much fire in the region, which has major consequences for resources as well as the potential to indirectly promote more fire.
JFSP is tasked with disseminating the best possible fire science for fire managers, so we think it is JFSP's responsibility to see that the best science is put forward. We are disappointed at your revival of ideas that have been shown to be ineffective and unrealistic.
Marti Witter
Fire Ecologist, Mediterranean Coast Network
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area/ Channel Islands National
Park/ Cabrillo National Monument
Jon E. Keeley, Research Scientist
USGS Western Ecological Research Center
Sequoia National Park
&
Adjunct Professor, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
University of California, Los Angeles
Hugh Safford
Regional Ecologist
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region
and
Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis
CJ Fotheringham, Research Ecologist
USGS Western Ecological Research Center
Alexandra D. Syphard, Ph.D.
Conservation Biology Institute
La Mesa, CA
I very much appreciate the time and thought that went into the comment posted by Marti Witter et.al. What we try to do at firescience.gov is engage people in a conversation about wildland fire science. Until science findings are generally accepted as fact, there is a marvelous opportunity to engage in learning through dialog.
ReplyDeleteIt is my hope that our blog is a vehicle to exchange ideas and perceptions. For a wildland fire manager, the lifetime of experiences is very powerful. For new ideas to be accepted, they have to be tested against that experience or ‘Show Me’ as they say in Missouri. Based on my experience in southern California, my perception is that once a brushfield is around 30 years old it is likely to burn well. My comment was strictly related to fire return interval and a minimum at that. I agree that wind trumps everything, but I wasn’t talking about wind or ignition source.
There are a couple of very good papers in the online journal Fire Ecology that look at fire history in chaparral. The first paper was sponsored by the Joint Fire Science Program looking at fire histories in the Los Padres National Forest and is titled: Using Bigcone Douglas-fir Fire Scars and Tree Rings to Reconstruct Interior Chaparral Fire History and it is available online at: http://fireecology.net/docs/Journal/pdf/Volume05/Issue03/035.pdf
The second paper is titled: A Summary of Fire Frequency Estimates for California Vegetation before Euro-American Settlement and it is also available online at: http://fireecology.net/docs/Journal/pdf/Volume07/Issue03/026.pdf
For science to be adopted and implemented, experience and perceptions must either be confirmed, or new information explained and demonstrated in a way that alters any misperceptions. Your comments serve everyone by doing exactly that, and expand the conversation.
So Californian’s join the conversation! What’s on your mind?
With best regards…
Tim Swedberg
tswedber@blm.gov