USDA Under-Secretary Mark Rey
recently met with Trinity County Supervisors regarding the fires of the summer of 2008. I
was invited to attend, and presented our County Declaration of a state of Emergency for
air quality, supportive data and a copy of our several resolutions protesting the
dangerous fuel load that exists in our National Forests. I brought a map showing the
alarming amount of forest burned or re-burned in western Siskiyou County over the past
three decade. Lynn Jungwirth of the Hayfork Watershed Center presented a map showing that
fires had become increasingly larger in the past decades than had been recorded
historically. The Hoopa tribe presented a study they had done on the health impacts of
smoke inhalation. Rey was then taken on a fly-over tour of the fires in the Trinity and
Klamath Region.
Rey acknowledged that we were seeing more severe fires than
previously. He indicated that prior to 1950, we had experienced a wetter than normal
period where a lot of vegetation was grown. Around 1950, we experienced a climate change
and entered a dry period creating drying fuel loads. He said that we can anticipate
several more decades of dry conditions.
Several presenters complained that the Forest Service had failed to
be aggressive in their attack, had designated huge ridge top to ridge top areas as their
area of attack and had extensively used back-burning to create man made burn areas that
never would have burned naturally in the event. Speakers claimed that the Forest Service
was using the fires as a cover to manage the forest using fire.
According to Rey, the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land management
have a 98 percent record of suppressing ignitions on initial attack. He indicated that
this year, there had been 18,000 lightning strikes in Northern California which resulted
in less than 3,000 ignitions. He indicated that it would be unreasonable to expect that
they would build a fire fighting organization where this would be routine. Usually, they
experience only one or two large events a season that they don’t suppress on initial
attack. Nothing has changed in their suppression strategy. This year they were simply
overwhelmed.
Some areas have fire management plans. This allows fire to burn
within an area if there are no economic or ecological resources at risk. According to Rey,
because of the numbers of fires, this summer they suspended these plans. However, they did
use a triage approach, placing firefighting resources where there were towns and
communities at risk and letting remote areas go.
Rey acknowledged the need to reduce fuels. He indicated that 25
million acres had already been treated nationwide, but that 60-70 million more needed to
be treated. Treatment should reduce the intensity and severity of the fires.
The USFS has already started on emergency recovery work in burned
areas. Rehabilitation and salvage opportunities are being planned – some using
Categorical Exclusion and some requiring more detailed Environmental Impact Reports.
Congressman Herger is working on legislation to speed up the process and move funding
forward. Senator Feinstein has a bill pending to allocate an additional $500 million to
replenish Forest budgets for money used in firefighting, and additional $175 million for
hazardous fuels reduction and $75 million for federal land rehabilitation. According to
Rey, it is anticipated that money will be directed to communities that are in agreement on
the priorities of what needs to be done and the resources that will be required. He
cautioned that the new Administration will learn about local issues much faster if they
hear the same message. |
