National Fire Plan Success Story
Prescribed fire area before burn.
Engine 9151 works on the Cornerstone Prescribed Fire along Highway 138.
The Cornerstone Prescribed Fire showed high severity fire effects.
Fuels were reduced in the prescribed fire area post-burn.
1000 Acre Cornerstone Prescribed Fire Largest in Park's History
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
National Fire Plan - Fuels Reduction
Between September 20th and 26th, 2007, fire crews completed the 1,000 acre Cornerstone prescribed fire in the northeast section of Crater Lake National Park. Personnel from the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and contract resources from Firestorm Wildland Fire Suppression and Ore-Cal were on hand to complete ground ignition and hold firelines.
A tremendous amount of work preparing firelines and thinning along project boundaries had to be completed before any prescribed fire project could be initiated. Years of planning and hundreds of hours of groundwork contributed to the success of this project.
Forest stands in the burn unit were 60% lodgepole dominant, approximately 30% lodgepole/ponderosa pine and approximately 10% mixed conifer. Fire behavior was similar to that of a natural fire; the lodgepole pine burned with high severity effects and a randomness that created a typical mosaic pattern. Fire effects research is ongoing, and should contribute greatly to the knowledge base on fire effects in Cascade Range lodgepole stands.
Landscape scale prescribed fires along the boundary of the park will allow fire managers additional flexibility in managing natural fires in the interior of the park. The combination of prescribed fire and Wildland Fire Use implementation are key elements for continued ecosystem health at Crater Lake.
Completion of the Cornerstone Prescribed Fire is another remarkable success for the fire management program at Crater Lake National Park.
Contact: Brad Reed, Fire Management Officer, Phone: (541) 594-3062