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National Fire Plan Success Story

Egley Complex Fire
Malheur National Forest, Oregon
National Fire Plan - Fuels Reduction
2009

Fire backing through a treated stand.
Fire backing through a treated stand during the Egley Fire.

Control lines used in Egley Fire.
Control lines used in Egley Fire. Note low scorch heights.

The Egley Complex fires of 2007 demonstrated the effectiveness of the fuels and vegetation management programs of the Emigrant Creek Ranger District, Malheur National Forest in Oregon. Although the complex of fires grew to over 140,360 acres (98,000 acres on National Forest), the placement of fuels treatments over the landscape offered firefighters opportunities for fire control. Many of the treated areas exhibited reduced fire behavior resulting in less severe crown fire and higher survival of trees.

An Assessment of Fuel Treatments on Three Large 2007 Pacific Northwest Fires noted that over 41,000 acres of the Egley fire area had received fuels treatments before the fire, with over 29,000 acres having been treated more than once. Treatments included some timber harvest, pre-commercial thinning, grapple and hand piling, pile burning, and prescribed fire underburns. All of these projects had multiple objectives including reduction of hazardous fuels, improvement of forest health, and increased firefighter and public safety. It became apparent during and after the fire that all of these objectives had been met.

The Emigrant Creek Ranger District’s fuels and vegetation management programs have successfully treated about 10,000 acres every year for almost a decade. The Ranger District and interagency fire staff partner with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and Oregon Department of Forestry to complete fuels projects. Having the resources available to complete large projects has been integral to a successful program.

For more information about the report on the Egley complex fire and fuel treatment effectiveness, see An Assessment of Fuel Treatments on Three Large 2007 Pacific Northwest Fires (December 2007) (PDF, 4.7 MB).

For more information about the Emigrant Creek Ranger District fuels and vegetation management program, contact Jeremy Sisneros at (541) 573-4303.