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Sequoia National Forest & |
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The Sequoia National Forest is located at the extreme south end of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and its proximity to Southern California combines to create a complex and demanding fire management environment. The Forest's proximity to large urban areas combined with rivers flowing through steep, flammable canyons creates a heavy recreation use with the accompanying fire starts. Extensive areas of grass and brush, timber stands with heavy fuel loading, steep topography and difficult access makes wildland fire's resistance to control extremely high. Because of the fuels, weather and geographical layout of the Forest, the threat of a large, intense wildland fire exists for most of the summer and into the fall.
The Sequoia National Forest is one of the most active fire Forests in California. It has an average of 200 fires each year, which burn about 9,400 acres annually. Lightning has traditionally accounted for about 67 percent of the fire ignitions, with the remainder caused by forest users, wildland operations and local residents. Fire season normally starts on the Forest in late April or early May, when the annual grasses have cured at the lower elevations (lower Kern Canyon and Lake Isabella). The season lasts until mid-November but can stretch into January depending on precipitation amounts. Hot days, warm nights, low relative humidities and variable winds are the norm, and can be expected throughout the season with the most severe conditions coming in August, September and October. Thunderstorms occur throughout the spring, summer and fall with only scattered precipitation and concentrations of lightning caused fires (generally in the Kern River Plateau spreading out across the Forest). The Forest has over 34,000 acres of Giant Sequoia Groves, accounting for over 90 percent of all Giant Sequoia trees on National Forest Lands. The newly formed Giant Sequoia National Monument consists of about 328,000 acres of federal land established to provide protection to these living objects. During the next three years, a monument management plan (complete with a fire management plan) will determine the role wildland and prescribed fire will play in monument management. These unique natural resources also, have large number of historical and prehistoric sites. In addition the Groves, other historical cabins, homesteads and Native American sites are found throughout the Forest. High intensity wildland fires can severely and negatively impact all of these cultural and natural features.
The Forest hosts a number of wildland and prescribed fire modules on the Forest. They are:
The Forest initiated a wilderness prescribed fire program in 1988. The second edition fire plan for the Jennie Lakes Wilderness (Hume Lake District) has undergone staff review and should be available for wildfires for resource benefit during the 2000 fire season. Other wilderness fire plans are in preparation (Domeland).
The Forest has a large and complex prescribed fire program, which includes a number of burns per year for a total of about 5,000 acres. Prescribed burns range from light understory burns (fuels reduction and forest health) to large-scale chaparral burns (wildlife and hazard reduction). The majority of these prescribed fires are of moderate complexity with over 3 being of high complexity. The program frequently includes the use of aviation support. The burn window is normally less than 3 months and smoke management regulations limit the available burns days. The burn windows may be increasing somewhat by burning during fire season, but this adds to the overall complexity of the prescribed burn program. Located adjacent to and within the Forest are over 6 population centers and as many sensitive areas. Three major travel routes cross the Forest. Most of the Forest lies within the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, which is currently in non-attainment. Smoke has the potential to enter these areas along with at least one Class 1 Air Shed. Historically, the use of mechanical fuels treatment method was extensive. Mechanical treatments have generally only required a single mechanical entry after which the fuel profile is maintained with prescribed fire. On the Forest, multiple implementation techniques and tools were involved. Several types of heavy equipment were used to achieve fuel treatment objectives. This equipment included grapple, dozer, chippers, and chain saws. Fire wood removal to meet objectives has also used. Detailed planning and implementation administration is required to avoid environmental damage.
The Forest has direct protection responsibility for over 1.1 million acres of National Forest System (NFS) lands and (under the statewide master agreement) has direct protection responsibility for 50,552 acres of State Responsible Areas (SRA) inside the Forest boundary. In addition, on lands that directly threaten NFS lands, the Forest provides mutual aid adjacent to the Forest boundary to 668,120 acres of SRA, Local Responsible Area (LRA) and other federal land ownerships. There are a number of small communities, subdivisions and individual dwellings within and adjacent to the Forest protection boundaries. In addition, there are State Highways 178, 180 and 190 that cross the Forest, along with power line corridors. Steep slopes leads to many of these locations, which are surrounded by, forested areas with very high fuel loading. In addition, there are high value summer special use cabins; resort and recreation sites mixed in and around these forested areas. Within the Kern Valley, the towns of Kernville and Lake Isabella have high concentrations of highly value property that is often threatened by fires originating in federal direct protection areas. These fires often are managed as Unified command incidents with the local jurisdiction agencies.
The Forest has many cooperative agreements and or operating plans with all neighboring fire protection agencies and other organizations:
These agreements provide for coordinated fire management planning and the sharing of fire protection resources, thus augmenting the wildland fire suppression and prescribed fire management capabilities of each agency. Fires that threaten lands of more than one jurisdiction (generally the norm) are jointly managed. Initial attack planning is based upon the use of the closest resources concept during wildland fire suppression operations.
Fire training is coordinated by the Sequoia National Forest and hosted by the Kern County Fire Department at the Olive Drive Training Center in Bakersfield, California. Training is most often jointly conducted between the local cooperating agencies.
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