10,000 acre Nevada wildfire started as a prescribed burn

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

North Schell fire 15 percent contained

The North Schell Fire perimter map, courtesy U.S. Forest Service.

The North Schell Fire in Nevada. Photo courtesy BLM.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — One of the biggest new wildfires burning in the West started as a prescribed burn that escaped control during one of the driest seasons on record in the Great Basin.

The North Schell Fire in Nevada has burned across more than 10,000 acres and is estimated at 15 percent containment. It’s burning in the North Schell Range, not far from Ely, in eastern Nevada.

Fuels include white fir, mountain mahogany, piñon-pine, juniper, and sagebrush. The fire is making occasional runs, along with spotting and torching in extremely difficult terrain. More than 200 firefighters are on scene with more resources arriving.

Fire officials said there is extreme potential for the fire to grow, with temperatures in the high 70s and 80s and relative humidity in the single digits.

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Colorado: Hickenlooper suspends prescribed fires

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Colorado firefighters battle a small blaze near Keystone, Colorado. PHOTO BY BOB BERWYN.

Order only applies to state-controlled lands; prescribed burns remain an important resource management took in fire-adapted western forest ecosystems

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — While acknowledging the importance of prescribed fire as a resource management tool, the Colorado State Forest Service joined Gov. John Hickenlooper in calling for an independent review of the circumstances that resulted in the deadly Lower North Fork Fire.

The announcement came after deputy state forester Joe Duda confirmed that a prescribed burn was the likely source of ignition for the Lower North Fork Fire, which has affected a 4,500 acre area in Jefferson County, burning 23 homes and killing two residents.

“We will conduct a thorough and comprehensive review of conditions across the state, as well as the protocols that have been utilized during the prescribed burns,” Hickenlooper said. “We encourage any other land manager who uses prescribed fires as a tool to mitigate fire danger to review their procedures and protocols and carefully evaluate weather and landscape conditions.” (more…)

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Prescribed fire planned for Grand Canyon’s North Rim

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

A beneficial groundfire at Grand Canyon National Park. PHOTO COURTESY NPS.

Managing smaller fires in appropriate conditions can reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY —Many public land officials talk about the role of fire in western ecoystems, but Grand Canyon National Park managers walk the walk.

This week, fire experts are making plans for a 2,340-acre furn on the North Rim, between Range Road and Highway 67.

Prescribed fires play an important role in decreasing risks to life, resources, and property resulting from large, uncontrolled wildfires. The managed burns can help reduce accumulations of forest fuels and maintain the natural role of fire in a fire-adapted ecosystems. More information at this NPS website. (more…)

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Fire used to treat declining aspen stands in Colorado

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Forest Service rangers will try and use fire to regenerate aspen stands affected by sudden aspen decline with a controlled burn in the Battlements Roadless Area in western Colorado. PHOTO BY BOB BERWYN

500-acre prescribed fire under way near Collbran

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — As a Colorado landmark tree, the aspen gets a lot of attention, especially this time of year, when the stands are vibrant with fiery fall color.

This week, a different sort of blaze will roar through a 500-acre stand of aspens in the Battlements Roadless area north of Collbran, where land managers are using a prescribed burn to treat an area affected by sudden aspen decline, the term for a sudden die-back of the trees linked to stress from the 2002 drought.

The pace of the die-back has slowed considerably in the past couple of years, but Forest Service researchers are still trying to figure out how they might be able to revitalize some of the areas that were hit.

And even though sudden aspen decline has slowed in southwest Colorado, there is still a slower trend of aspen decline across the state, attributed in part to fire suppression, as well to over-grazing of young stands by elk.

Aspens are an important part of Colorado’s forest ecosystems. The groves provide good habitat for cavity nesting birds, and the understory is much more diverse than in many evergreen forests, with shrubs and berries that provide an important food source for many animals. (more…)

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