PORTLAND, Ore. May 8, 2003. The 2002 Biscuit Fire in the Siskiyou
NF was one of the largest in Oregon history: more than 499,000 acres
burned. The fire season was the worst in over 140 years, with costs
of over $150 million for the Biscuit Fire alone. Although fire is
a natural part of our environment, there is broad interest in making
it less destructive and less harmful to people, their property,
and forested landscapes.
A team of scientists at the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station,
USDA Forest Service, is leading a postfire data collection effort
at the site of the Biscuit Fire in southwestern Oregon to help fire
managers mitigate future fires similar to the Biscuit.
The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program at the station annually
inventories trees, vegetation, and down wood on public and private
land. Inventory data collected before the Biscuit Fire will be used
as a basis to compare postfire data collected this year. This study
will help forest managers:
- Assess fire severity across the landscape and its effects on
- Identify factors (such as amounts of brush and down wood) that
contribute to high-severity burns.
- Monitor postfire tree survival and recovery and forest succession
"The ability to survive or recover from fire is species dependent.
For example, trees with thicker bark, higher crown base, and deeper
rooting can withstand greater heat," explains FIA scientist
Dave Azuma. "The effect on the aboveground vegetation can be
classified by the length of flame, as evidenced by observations
of scorch height. The effect on the soil surface can be characterized
by the extent of ground char. When these observations are combined
with aerial estimates of fire intensity and additional postfire
composition and structural characteristics, we can provide accurate
estimates of fire severity."
Field work on the Biscuit Fire's 180 existing plots begins near
Grants Pass in May and will continue through October. FIA plots
within the perimeter of last summer's McNally Fire in California's
Sequoia National Forest also will be measured this summer.