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National Fire Plan Success Story

Fire Officials Finally Have Some Good News: Fuels Project Slows Wildfire
Salt Lake Field Office, Utah
National Fire Plan - Fuels Reduction

On July 16, 2007 the Bedke and Pine Creek Fires burned on the same day, in the same fuel type, within mere miles of each other. Firefighters watched with angst as the fires raged through juniper, sagebrush and trees. When the smoke cleared on both fires the Pine Creek fire had consumed only a tenth of the acreage of Bedke. The difference between the two was a hazardous fuels reduction project implemented in 2004.

WITNESS ACCOUNT

"Once the flames hit the project area the fire was reduced from fast to slow; from crown to ground," says Jeff Kline, Fire Management Officer, Salt Lake Field Office.

Jeff Kline, Fire Management Officer for the Salt Lake Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, had a bird's eye view of fire activity before and after flames hit the Cook Canyon project. During large fires Jeff is perched in the sky aboard an aerial attack command plane, directing firefighting actions on the ground.
Kline reports, "Prior to the Pine Creek fire hitting our fuels project, we had a fast moving crown fire on our hands. I saw a flame front move right through a heavy retardant line, like it wasn't even there."

"Flames were dropped to their knees," continues Kline.

Kline continues, "When flames hit the fuelbreak the fire was reduced from fast to slow; from crown to ground. A change in fire behavior translated to a change in our tactics. The slower fire provided a safe area for ground forces to directly attack the fire with help from retardant and bucket drops.

BACKGROUND

The vegetation in the Cook Canyon project area was dominated by large, dense stands of juniper. This area had a high potential to carry intense, fast-moving fires. This area needed treatment to create a fuel break of less flammable fuels. A fuel break is expected to help lessen the potential severity and intensity of wildland fires that could threaten the surrounding environment and communities.

During 2004, the juniper was thinned with a BLM Bullhog to increase spacing between trees to 30-60 feet by eliminating selected junipers and leaving a variety of sizes and ages on the landscape. The treatment was constructed in a mosaic pattern following natural geographical features that are beneficial from a fire suppression and fire behavior point of view.

~excerpt from the Cook Canyon Monitoring Report, 2004, Salt Lake Field Office, BLM

OTHER BENEFITS TO FUELS PROJECTS

Tyler Staggs, Range Conservationist for the Salt Lake Field Office, BLM, reminds us that fuels projects, like the Cook Canyon project, benefit natural resources, too.

Staggs explained, "Cook Canyon helps open up a tree dominated ecosystem to a more natural plant community. Removing some of the trees restored the proportion of shrubs and grasses to a healthier state, which also provides adequate cover and food for wildlife and livestock."

Contact: Erin Darboven, 801.243.0004