Fire crews securing access to Rum Creek FireGRANTS PASS, Ore. – Aviation resources worked steadily throughout the day Sunday, dropping water and retardant to slow the spread of the Rum Creek Fire while ground resources developed safe routes to the Rum Creek Fire perimeter.
 Firefighter and public safety are always the top priority on a wildfire. Although the Rum Creek Fire started on a ridgetop, the steep topography allows burning debris to potentially roll downhill, spreading fire as it goes, with the possibility of spotting and torching.
 Additional resources have been ordered and are arriving steadily. This morning, 266 personnel were assigned to the fire, including one hotshot crew, 10 hand crews and one dozer.Among the natural resources threatened by the fire is an endemic stand of Port‐Orford‐cedar, which is unique to southwest Oregon and northwest California. Historically, native Karok people of northwest California used Port‐Orford‐cedar for a variety of purposes.
 Three hand crews, three engines and three water tenders will continue mop‐up today on the Hog Creek Fire, which is holding at 32 acres and is 30 percent contained. Mop‐up is the process of extinguishing residual fire and hot spots to make sure it doesn't continue to spread outside of an established containment area.
 Weather: Slightly cooler today, highs in the 80s, humidity in the 30s and light winds with gusts up to 12 miles per hour.
 Safety: Be alert while driving and watch for increased fire traffic in Merlin and Rand, especially in the morning and evening as resources head into and out of the fire closure areas at shift changes.
 A river ranger is stationed above Rainie Falls to direct boating traffic. Boaters may be asked to pull over while helicopters dip water from the pool.
 Closures: Medford BLM has closed the Rainie Falls Trail until further notice. For more information about closures and fire restrictions, go to  https://www.blm.gov/programs/public‐safety‐and‐fire/fire‐and‐ aviation/regional‐info/oregon‐washington/fire‐restrictions
 Other fires: For information about other fires in the Lightning Gulch Complex, go to Southwest Oregon Department of Forestry’s website www.swofire.com or https://www.facebook.com/ODFSouthwest.

BAER Scientists and Specialists Assess Yeti Fire — What They Do

A Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team is assessing federal lands burned in the McKinney and Yeti fires, with the goal of keeping visitors and employees safe while recreating and working in the Klamath National Forest. After a fire, loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion; water runoff may increase and cause flooding, sediments may move downstream and damage houses or fill reservoirs and put endangered species and community water supplies at-risk. BAER team assessments focus on emergency actions that are necessary to protect human life and safety, property, critical cultural resources, and critical natural resources such as soil productivity, hydrologic function, and water quality. Emergency actions are intended to minimize any further damage during rainstorm events.

BAER hydrologists, soil scientists, geologists, road engineers, recreation specialists, biologists, botanists, archeologists, and GIS specialists are currently assessing the condition and response of the watersheds within the McKinney and Yeti burned areas. These specialists evaluate critical natural and cultural resources, and critical infrastructures such as forest roads, trails, and campgrounds that could be at risk during a major storm event.

BAER scientists evaluate the burned watersheds to determine post-fire effects to soil and watershed conditions. This includes testing whether the soil repels water (aka hydrophobic), the amount of soil cover left, soil structure damage, and organic matter left in the soil. Post-fire burned areas of hydrophobic soils along with destruction of soil structure can act as a “tin roof” by reducing the infiltration capacity of soils, leading to enhanced overland flow and accelerated soil erosion.

Below, these three photos show Forest Service Soil Scientist Eric Nicita and Hydrologist Jesse Merrifield assessing soil hydrophobicity (water repellency) and changes to soil structure in a high soil burn severity (SBS) burned area. Jesse digs a trench and drops water on the soil at multiple depths to determine how deep and how strong the layer of water-repellant soil may be.

           

When burned watersheds and channels are loaded with unsorted, unconsolidated rocky materials, it creates a post-fire risk where that material is available to be transported downstream as a destructive debris flow during a major rainstorm event.

In this photo below, BAER Geologists Yonni Schwartz and Dennis Veich assessed these steep (90%) burn slopes below China Peak within the Yeti burn area for potential initiation of debris flows during major rainstorm events.

This photo below shows moderate and high soil burn severity areas on extremely steep slopes (80% and above) below China Peak.

During Yonni and Dennis’ Yeti burned area assessment, they found some slopes and drainages loaded with unsorted, unconsolidated materials comprised of rocks of all sizes including boulders, cobbles, gravels, and fine sediments.

In the photo below, West Grider Creek is loaded with rocks of all sizes, including boulders and cobbles.

In this photo Dennis assesses potential increased sediment and debris flow impacts to road crossings and culverts in the Yeti burned area.

Another BAER specialist who conducted field surveys within the McKinney and Yeti burned areas to assess habitat conditions of critical aquatic species was Forest Service Fisheries biologist Maija Meneks. She captured these next two photos during her August 21, 2022, Yeti burned area assessment. Her photo below shows a downstream view of West Grider Creek from Forest Service Road 46N56 crossing.

While this photo shows an upstream view of West Grider Creek from Forest Service Road 46N56 crossing.

In this last photo, Forest Service Engineer Sam Marano and Forest Service Botanist Erin Lonergan are getting ready to assess dozer lines and Forest Service roads in the Yeti burned area for possible invasive weeds that could impact native plant communities and damage natural resource vegetative habitat.

BAER SAFETY MESSAGE: Everyone near and downstream from the burned areas should remain alert and stay updated on weather conditions that may result in heavy rains and increased water runoff. Flash flooding may occur quickly during heavy rain events – be prepared to act. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service websites:  www.weather.gov/sto/ and www.weather.gov/eka/.

MCKINNEY & YETI POST-FIRE SOIL BURN SEVERITY MAPS RELEASED

      

McKinney Burned Area                      Yeti Burned Area

On August 18, 2022, Forest Service BAER team specialists completed their field data gathering on federal lands burned by the McKinney and Yeti fires. The post-fire maps and data display soil burn severity (SBS) categories of unburned/very low, low, moderate, and high.

For the McKinney Fire, the BAER team analyzed approximately 60,325 acres and its burned watersheds for the different levels of SBS. Approximately 22% of the total acres are either unburned/very low or low SBS, while 63% are moderate SBS and 16% are high SBS.

The BAER team’s assessment shows the acreage for land ownership for the 60,325 acres to be:

•  39,316 acres of Klamath National Forest (NF) land, and
•  21,009 acres of private lands.

For the Yeti Fire, the BAER team analyzed approximately 7,879 acres and its burned watersheds for the different levels of SBS. Approximately 71% of the total acres are either unburned/very low or low SBS, while 21% are moderate SBS and 7% are high SBS.

The BAER team’s assessment shows the acreage for land ownership for the 7,879 acres to be:

• 7,807 acres of Klamath National Forest (NF) land, and
•      72 acres of private lands.

The BAER assessment team used preliminary remote sensing data based on satellite imagery of the fire perimeter from August 18, 2022, with field-validated data collected over several days to produce the final McKinney and Yeti Post-Fire SBS maps.

The BAER assessment team coordinates with other local and federal agencies such as county and state officials, the State of California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), California Office of Emergency Services (CALOES), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Weather Service (NWS), and US Geological Survey (USGS) to share information about burned watershed conditions and their predicted response during certain rain events.

The SBS map products are an estimate of fire effects on soils and not a measure of direct effects to vegetation. SBS characterizes the soil surface and below-ground impact, whereas effects on vegetation are estimates of mortality based primarily on changes in vegetation canopy. The Rapid Assessment of Vegetation Condition after Wildfire (RAVG) program produces data describing post-fire vegetation conditions on federal lands. Changes in overhead and understory vegetation canopy are often used as initial indicators of overall vegetation burn severity, but do not necessarily coincide with SBS.

Changes in soil cover, water repellency, and soil physical/biological conditions guide the interpretations to determine the severity burn level of the soil. Water repellency can occur naturally in soil and may change as a result of fire. Fire can increase the strength and thickness (or depth) of water-repellent layers in soil, considerably affecting post-fire water runoff and possibly extending time for recovery of the burned area.

Soil burn severity indicators can be found within the Rocky Mountain Research Station’s General Technical Report 243 – Field Guide for Mapping Post-Fire Soil Burn Severity https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr243.pdf and are described below.

Low SBS generally occurs where surface organic layers are not completely consumed and are still recognizable. Structural aggregate stability is not changed from its unburned condition, and roots are generally unchanged because the heat pulse below the soil surface was not great enough to consume or char any underlying organics. The ground surface, including any exposed mineral soil, may appear brown or black (lightly charred), and the canopy and understory vegetation will likely appear “green.” Lower risk for accelerated runoff, erosion, flooding, and debris flows is expected within and below these areas compared to moderate and high SBS.

In areas with moderate SBS, up to 80% of the pre-fire ground cover (litter and ground fuels) is consumed. Fine roots may be scorched but are rarely completely consumed over much of the area. The color of the ash on the surface is generally blackened with possible gray patches. There may be potential for recruitment of effective ground cover from scorched needles or leaves remaining in the canopy that will soon fall to the ground. The prevailing color of the site is often “brown” due to canopy needle and other vegetation scorch. Soil structure is generally unchanged. Where greater amounts of reduced soil cover and increased water repellency occur, increased overland flow of water from precipitation is expected, most notably in locations where the overstory canopy no longer exists.

High SBS occurs where all or nearly all the pre-fire ground cover and surface organic matter (litter, duff, and fine roots) are consumed, and charring may be visible on larger roots. The prevailing color of the site is often “black” due to extensive charring. Bare soil or ash is exposed and susceptible to erosion, and aggregate structure may be less stable. White or gray ash (up to several centimeters in depth) indicates that considerable ground cover or fuels were consumed. Sometimes very large tree roots are entirely burned extending from a charred stump hole. Soil is often gray, orange, or reddish at the ground surface where large fuels were concentrated and consumed.

Generally, there is 100% tree mortality in forested areas with high SBS, and tree recovery will take many years without planting. In high SBS, the exposed bare soil is very prone to post-fire impacts. Rain events on damaged soil can cause excessive soil erosion, resulting in higher volumes of sediment delivery to adjacent creeks and rivers. There is increased likelihood for flooding and debris flows. These threats can individually or cumulatively increase the risk to human life and safety, property, infrastructure, and important critical natural and cultural resources.

The BAER team will use the McKinney and Yeti SBS data to analyze and model post-fire hydrologic response for each of the watersheds to determine if there are threats or risks to BAER critical values: human life and safety, property, critical natural resources, and critical cultural resources. The team shares its analysis with cooperating agencies such as CalOES, NRCS, and Siskiyou County who have the authority to work with private property owners downstream from the burned area that potentially may have post-fire threats from increased water and debris flows. The BAER team’s analysis and findings will be documented in an assessment report that will be posted to each of the Post-Fire BAER InciWeb pages after the report has been reviewed and approved by Forest Service leadership.

The SBS maps can be downloaded at the “McKinney Post-Fire BAER” InciWeb site (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8345/) or at the “Yeti Post-Fire BAER” InciWeb site (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8347/) as a JPEG or PDF format image under the “Maps” tab.

For additional information about understanding SBS, see: Post-Fire Effects Understanding Soil Burn Severity - InciWeb the Incident Information System (nwcg.gov).

BAER SAFETY MESSAGE: Everyone near and downstream from the burned areas should remain alert and stay updated on weather conditions that may result in heavy rains and increased water runoff. Flash flooding may occur quickly during heavy rain events – be prepared to act. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service websites:  www.weather.gov/sto/ and www.weather.gov/eka/.

Post-Fire Effects Understanding Soil Burn Severity

BAER Burned Area Emergency Response Information Brief

We tend to think of wildfire burn severity in terms of the visual impacts to above-ground vegetation, but the post-fire landscape response (erosion, flooding, and mass movement) is generally more strongly correlated to soil burn severity. When characterizing soil burn severity, looking at the vegetation is a good starting place to understand the conditions on the ground. Armed with that information, the BAER team’s watershed specialists (soil scientists, hydrologists, and geologists) ground-truth different vegetation burn intensities to tease out patterns of how fire affected and changed the properties of the soil.  Pre-fire ground cover, forest type, fire behavior, slope, aspect, and other factors all influence soil burn severity.  After field observations are collected, specialists adjust the vegetation severity map to create the soil burn severity (SBS) map.  The SBS is broken into four different classes: unburned (green), low severity (blue), moderate severity (yellow), and high severity (red).

So, what do these different classifications mean?

LOW severity areas generally have intact and recognizable litter layers (organic material on the forest floor, such as pine needles and twigs).  These litter layers may be charred, but are not consumed.  Underlying topsoil is intact and near-surface fine roots are unburned.  These soils have enough cover to protect them from erosion during rain events because their natural porosity and structure allow rain to soak into the soil instead of running off, while fine roots provide stability.  In low severity areas, burns may have been patchy—islands of green vegetation and intact canopies may be present. 

MODERATE severity areas generally have more—up to 80% of their pre-fire surface litter layers consumed by fire.  Black or gray ash may be present on the soil surface. Fine roots near the surface may be scorched and killed.  Topsoil layers are generally intact with minimal impacts to the soil’s ability to absorb moisture. Soils with moderate severity are more susceptible to erosion in post-fire rain events because they have lost protective surface cover and may have less surface stability because of root mortality.

HIGH severity areas generally have had all their pre-fire surface litter layers consumed by fire. White or gray ash may be present on the soil surface. Fine roots are often fully burned/consumed within several inches of the soil surface, and even large tree roots may have burned deep into the soil.  Soil may be powdery or grainy and loose, unable to bind together and retain water. These soils are very susceptible to erosion and often have high surface run-off during rainstorms.

So, what does the BAER team do with the SBS map?

The BAER team uses the SBS map to make predictions about how the landscape will respond after fires. Soil scientists consider where soil productivity will be degraded due to erosion losses and where sediment may move into stream channels. Hydrologists use the SBS to predict watershed response—surface runoff from high SBS areas in rainstorms can produce more “flashy” behavior in stream systems.  Geologists use the SBS to inform predictions for debris flow or other mass movement potential based on reduced soil stability in steep drainages.

BAER teams focus on emergency responses to stabilize burned areas that may impact federal lands critical infrastructure or other values located within or immediately downstream of moderate and high soil burn severity areas.

BAER Scientists and Specialists Assess the McKinney Fire – What They Do

A Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team is assessing federal lands burned in the McKinney and Yeti fires, with the goal of keeping visitors and employees safe while recreating and working in the Klamath National Forest. After a fire, loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion; water runoff may increase and cause flooding, sediments may move downstream and damage houses or fill reservoirs and put endangered species and community water supplies at-risk. BAER team assessments focus on emergency actions that are necessary to protect human life and safety, property, critical cultural resources, and critical natural resources such as soil productivity, hydrologic function, and water quality. Emergency actions are intended to minimize any further damage during rainstorm events.

BAER hydrologists, soil scientists, geologists, road engineers, recreation specialists, biologists, botanists, archeologists, and GIS specialists are currently assessing the condition and response of the watersheds within the McKinney and Yeti burned areas. These specialists evaluate critical natural and cultural resources, and critical infrastructures such as forest roads, trails, and campgrounds that could be at risk during a major storm event.

BAER scientists evaluate the burned watersheds to determine post-fire effects to soil and watershed conditions. This includes testing whether the soil repels water (aka hydrophobic), the amount of soil cover left, soil structure damage, and organic matter left in the soil. Post-fire burned areas of hydrophobic soils along with destruction of soil structure can act as a “tin roof” by reducing the infiltration capacity of soils, leading to enhanced overland flow and accelerated soil erosion.

Below, these three photos show Forest Service Soil Scientist Eric Nicita and Hydrologist Jesse Merrifield assessing soil hydrophobicity (water repellency) and changes to soil structure in a high soil burn severity (SBS) area of the McKinney burned area. Jesse digs a trench and drops water on the soil at multiple depths to determine how deep and how strong the layer of water-repellant soil may be.

        

When burned watersheds and channels are loaded with unsorted, unconsolidated rocky materials, it creates a post-fire risk where that material is available to be transported downstream as a destructive debris flow during a major rainstorm event.

In this photo below, Eric Nicita is assessing and recording data about potential debris flow damage in a McKinney burned watershed.

The two photos below were taken by Forest Service Hydrologists Kyle Wright and Jesse Merrifield during their field assessments of the McKinney burned area. The top photo shows evidence of prior debris flow material in Little Humbug Creek, while bottom photo shows past debris flow deposits near the confluence of Vesa Creek and the Klamath River.

In the next photo below, Kyle Wright and Forest Service Hydrologist Anna Chinchilli inspect damage at the bridge crossing Vesa Creek on the Klamath River Road following the August 2, 2022, debris flow event. Immediately after this event, only a couple inches of space were observed between the entrained material and the base of the bridge. The bridge inlet/outlet was cleared by heavy machinery to allow water to pass unobstructed.

In the next photo below, a high debris flow mud splatter is visible on oak trees resulting from the August 2 Vesa Creek debris flow event at the confluence of Vesa Creek and the Klamath River. Kyle Wright is in the background walking past large, coarse, woody debris piles pushed out during this event.

This next photo shows Kyle Wright standing on the remnant Vesa Creek debris flow fan at the confluence with the Klamath River.

Forest Service Hydrologist Anna Chinchilli is documenting a head-cut created during the Vesa Creek debris flow event where water carried sediment, rocks and other debris during the event and cut into the adjacent less-armored upland soils resulting in vertical erosion.

BAER Engineers evaluate roads and bridges within burned areas for potential threats from flash flooding, sediment flows impacting drainage crossings and the overall infrastructure due to increased erosion, sedimentation, and water flows. They also determine whether road culverts within the burned area have sufficient capacity to pass post-fire modeled increased water and debris flows—in particular, they look to see if they are clogged, collapsed, or could get clogged after major rainstorm events. Roads are BAER critical values that need to be assessed for these threats. The BAER team will recommend emergency stabilization treatments and actions to minimize those threats.

The photos below are an example of areas within the McKinney Fire perimeter where BAER assessment team soil scientist and geologists inspected areas of the August 2 debris flow event to prescribe the most effective BAER treatment to protect the road prisms, water crossings and bridges from washing away during future major storm events.

In this photo below, Eric Nicita is assessing fire damage to a bridge.

The next three photos show BAER Geologist Dennis Veich while he and Forest Service Geologist Yonni Schwartz were measuring the depth of inundation (impacts) by the August 2 debris flow event at a bridge just above the confluence of Little Humbug Creek and the Klamath River in the McKinney burned area.

    

Another BAER specialist who conducted field surveys within the McKinney and Yeti burned areas to assess habitat conditions of critical aquatic species was Forest Service Fisheries biologist Maija Meneks. She captured these next photos during her August 19, 2022, burned area assessment.

This photo shows Vesa Creek looking up-canyon from County Road 8J001 where creek temporarily diverted from the original stream channel, crossing the road.

This next photo is a Humbug Creek area that is a typical example of a side drainage area that was overwhelmed by the August 2 storm event. A primary culvert under the county road was also plugged. The culvert in this photo is a high relief culvert (relieves surface water runoff from roadside ditches to prevent excessive water volume and velocity.
 
 

Below is an example of a severely soil burn severity riparian area in Humbug Creek between Lawson Gulch and Sucker Creek.

Here is a riparian area of Humbug Creek just downstream of Eliza Gulch that has an unburned to low soil burn severity which also includes most of the creek’s tributaries. There is no sign of sediment impact beyond what is considered normal for this drainage despite evidence of elevated flows from the August 2 rainstorm event.

BAER SAFETY MESSAGE: Everyone near and downstream from the burned areas should remain alert and stay updated on weather conditions that may result in heavy rains and increased water runoff. Flash flooding may occur quickly during heavy rain events – be prepared to act. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service websites:  www.weather.gov/sto/ and www.weather.gov/eka/

MCKINNEY & YETI POST-FIRE SOIL BURN SEVERITY MAPS RELEASED

      

McKinney Burned Area                      Yeti Burned Area 

On August 18, 2022, Forest Service BAER team specialists completed their field data gathering on federal lands burned by the McKinney and Yeti fires. The post-fire maps and data display soil burn severity (SBS) categories of unburned/very low, low, moderate, and high.

For the McKinney Fire, the BAER team analyzed approximately 60,325 acres and its burned watersheds for the different levels of SBS. Approximately 22% of the total acres are either unburned/very low or low SBS, while 63% are moderate SBS and 16% are high SBS.

The BAER team’s assessment shows the acreage for land ownership for the 60,325 acres to be:

•  39,316 acres of Klamath National Forest (NF) land, and
•  21,009 acres of private lands.

For the Yeti Fire, the BAER team analyzed approximately 7,879 acres and its burned watersheds for the different levels of SBS. Approximately 71% of the total acres are either unburned/very low or low SBS, while 21% are moderate SBS and 7% are high SBS.

The BAER team’s assessment shows the acreage for land ownership for the 7,879 acres to be:

• 7,807 acres of Klamath National Forest (NF) land, and
•      72 acres of private lands.

The BAER assessment team used preliminary remote sensing data based on satellite imagery of the fire perimeter from August 18, 2022, with field-validated data collected over several days to produce the final McKinney and Yeti Post-Fire SBS maps.

The BAER assessment team coordinates with other local and federal agencies such as county and state officials, the State of California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), California Office of Emergency Services (CALOES), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Weather Service (NWS), and US Geological Survey (USGS) to share information about burned watershed conditions and their predicted response during certain rain events.

The SBS map products are an estimate of fire effects on soils and not a measure of direct effects to vegetation. SBS characterizes the soil surface and below-ground impact, whereas effects on vegetation are estimates of mortality based primarily on changes in vegetation canopy. The Rapid Assessment of Vegetation Condition after Wildfire (RAVG) program produces data describing post-fire vegetation conditions on federal lands. Changes in overhead and understory vegetation canopy are often used as initial indicators of overall vegetation burn severity, but do not necessarily coincide with SBS.

Changes in soil cover, water repellency, and soil physical/biological conditions guide the interpretations to determine the severity burn level of the soil. Water repellency can occur naturally in soil and may change as a result of fire. Fire can increase the strength and thickness (or depth) of water-repellent layers in soil, considerably affecting post-fire water runoff and possibly extending time for recovery of the burned area.

Soil burn severity indicators can be found within the Rocky Mountain Research Station’s General Technical Report 243 – Field Guide for Mapping Post-Fire Soil Burn Severity https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr243.pdf and are described below.

Low SBS generally occurs where surface organic layers are not completely consumed and are still recognizable. Structural aggregate stability is not changed from its unburned condition, and roots are generally unchanged because the heat pulse below the soil surface was not great enough to consume or char any underlying organics. The ground surface, including any exposed mineral soil, may appear brown or black (lightly charred), and the canopy and understory vegetation will likely appear “green.” Lower risk for accelerated runoff, erosion, flooding, and debris flows is expected within and below these areas compared to moderate and high SBS.

In areas with moderate SBS, up to 80% of the pre-fire ground cover (litter and ground fuels) is consumed. Fine roots may be scorched but are rarely completely consumed over much of the area. The color of the ash on the surface is generally blackened with possible gray patches. There may be potential for recruitment of effective ground cover from scorched needles or leaves remaining in the canopy that will soon fall to the ground. The prevailing color of the site is often “brown” due to canopy needle and other vegetation scorch. Soil structure is generally unchanged. Where greater amounts of reduced soil cover and increased water repellency occur, increased overland flow of water from precipitation is expected, most notably in locations where the overstory canopy no longer exists.

High SBS occurs where all or nearly all the pre-fire ground cover and surface organic matter (litter, duff, and fine roots) are consumed, and charring may be visible on larger roots. The prevailing color of the site is often “black” due to extensive charring. Bare soil or ash is exposed and susceptible to erosion, and aggregate structure may be less stable. White or gray ash (up to several centimeters in depth) indicates that considerable ground cover or fuels were consumed. Sometimes very large tree roots are entirely burned extending from a charred stump hole. Soil is often gray, orange, or reddish at the ground surface where large fuels were concentrated and consumed.

Generally, there is 100% tree mortality in forested areas with high SBS, and tree recovery will take many years without planting. In high SBS, the exposed bare soil is very prone to post-fire impacts. Rain events on damaged soil can cause excessive soil erosion, resulting in higher volumes of sediment delivery to adjacent creeks and rivers. There is increased likelihood for flooding and debris flows. These threats can individually or cumulatively increase the risk to human life and safety, property, infrastructure, and important critical natural and cultural resources.

The BAER team will use the McKinney and Yeti SBS data to analyze and model post-fire hydrologic response for each of the watersheds to determine if there are threats or risks to BAER critical values: human life and safety, property, critical natural resources, and critical cultural resources. The team shares its analysis with cooperating agencies such as CalOES, NRCS, and Siskiyou County who have the authority to work with private property owners downstream from the burned area that potentially may have post-fire threats from increased water and debris flows. The BAER team’s analysis and findings will be documented in an assessment report that will be posted to each of the Post-Fire BAER InciWeb pages after the report has been reviewed and approved by Forest Service leadership.

The SBS maps can be downloaded at the “McKinney Post-Fire BAER” InciWeb site (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8345/) or at the “Yeti Post-Fire BAER” InciWeb site (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8347/) as a JPEG or PDF format image under the “Maps” tab.

 

For additional information about understanding SBS, see: Post-Fire Effects Understanding Soil Burn Severity - InciWeb the Incident Information System (nwcg.gov).

 

BAER SAFETY MESSAGE: Everyone near and downstream from the burned areas should remain alert and stay updated on weather conditions that may result in heavy rains and increased water runoff. Flash flooding may occur quickly during heavy rain events – be prepared to act. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service websites:  www.weather.gov/sto/ and www.weather.gov/eka/.

Post-Fire Effects Understanding Soil Burn Severity

BAER Burned Area Emergency Response Information Brief

We tend to think of wildfire burn severity in terms of the visual impacts to above-ground vegetation, but the post-fire landscape response (erosion, flooding, and mass movement) is generally more strongly correlated to soil burn severity. When characterizing soil burn severity, looking at the vegetation is a good starting place to understand the conditions on the ground. Armed with that information, the BAER team’s watershed specialists (soil scientists, hydrologists, and geologists) ground-truth different vegetation burn intensities to tease out patterns of how fire affected and changed the properties of the soil.  Pre-fire ground cover, forest type, fire behavior, slope, aspect, and other factors all influence soil burn severity.  After field observations are collected, specialists adjust the vegetation severity map to create the soil burn severity (SBS) map.  The SBS is broken into four different classes: unburned (green), low severity (blue), moderate severity (yellow), and high severity (red).

So, what do these different classifications mean?

LOW severity areas generally have intact and recognizable litter layers (organic material on the forest floor, such as pine needles and twigs).  These litter layers may be charred, but are not consumed.  Underlying topsoil is intact and near-surface fine roots are unburned.  These soils have enough cover to protect them from erosion during rain events because their natural porosity and structure allow rain to soak into the soil instead of running off, while fine roots provide stability.  In low severity areas, burns may have been patchy—islands of green vegetation and intact canopies may be present. 

MODERATE severity areas generally have more—up to 80% of their pre-fire surface litter layers consumed by fire.  Black or gray ash may be present on the soil surface. Fine roots near the surface may be scorched and killed.  Topsoil layers are generally intact with minimal impacts to the soil’s ability to absorb moisture. Soils with moderate severity are more susceptible to erosion in post-fire rain events because they have lost protective surface cover and may have less surface stability because of root mortality.

HIGH severity areas generally have had all their pre-fire surface litter layers consumed by fire. White or gray ash may be present on the soil surface. Fine roots are often fully burned/consumed within several inches of the soil surface, and even large tree roots may have burned deep into the soil.  Soil may be powdery or grainy and loose, unable to bind together and retain water. These soils are very susceptible to erosion and often have high surface run-off during rainstorms.

So, what does the BAER team do with the SBS map?

The BAER team uses the SBS map to make predictions about how the landscape will respond after fires. Soil scientists consider where soil productivity will be degraded due to erosion losses and where sediment may move into stream channels. Hydrologists use the SBS to predict watershed response—surface runoff from high SBS areas in rainstorms can produce more “flashy” behavior in stream systems.  Geologists use the SBS to inform predictions for debris flow or other mass movement potential based on reduced soil stability in steep drainages.

BAER teams focus on emergency responses to stabilize burned areas that may impact federal lands critical infrastructure or other values located within or immediately downstream of moderate and high soil burn severity areas.

9/11 Final Thor & Slate Creek Fire update
Final Update
Thor & Slate Creek Fire
Quick Facts

Approximate Size
Thor Fire 1300 acres
Slate 620 acres
Salmo 320 acres
Gypsy Ridge 17 acres
Containment 0%
Total Personnel 50
Fire Danger Very High
Structures Lost
Primary – 0 Secondary - 0
For Immediate Release - September 11, 2022

A Type 3 Incident Management Team is managing four fires in the same general area. Each fire is burning in remote and rugged terrain with poor access. The fires are not threatening critical infrastructure, wildlife habitat, nor watershed integrity.

Over the next few days, the fires are at a point to turn back to local resources. These resources will continue to patrol for any unexpected fire growth. Road and trail closures are still in place. Firefighter and public safety are the highest priority. Please check up to date road closure information on the forest website below. For any additional information after 9/14 contact the Sullivan Lake Ranger Station @ (509) 446-2139

The fires were all ignited by lightning as several thunderstorms have passed over the area the past month. The first ignition was discovered on August 13 and the last on September 3, 2022. Managers have taken a confine/contain approach to the suppression of these fires due to the remoteness and rugged terrain.

Thor Fire -The fire is located 5 miles east of Sullivan Lake and burning in a remote area. The fire is approximately 1300 acres. Containment lines are being patrolled and monitored. The fire continues to burn within containment lines in heavy jackpots of dead and down.

Slate Fire Update - The Slate Fire is 7 mi. NE of Metaline Falls and is approximately 620 acres. Work on containment and access lines to the west has been completed.

Salmo Fire – The Salmo Fire is approximately 4 miles northeast of the Gypsy Meadows Trailhead in the Salmo Priest Wilderness. The fire is approximately 320 acres, and its eastern edge has burned into Idaho. The fire is being monitored by air due to its remote and dangerous access.

Gypsy Ridge – The Gypsy Ridge Fire is located approximately 2 miles west of the Salmo Lookout. The fire is also located in the Salmo Priest Wilderness, and burning in steep rocky terrain with limited access, and is approximately 17 acres. The fire is being monitored due to its remote and dangerous access.

Weather: Temperatures are 75 degrees in higher elevations and 10 degrees warmer in the valleys. Winds are west 2-5 and humidity is expected to be 27%.

Closed Roads: Highline- This closure begins at the junction of NFS Road 2212200 and NFS Road 2212000 and ends at the junction of NFS Road 221200 and NFS Road 2220000. Johns Creek- This closure begins at the junction of NFS Road 2200500 and ends at the NFS Trail #540 (Hall Mountain Trailhead). Sullivan Creek/Pass Creek- This closure begins at the junction of the NFS Road 2200250 and the NFS Road 2200000. NFS Road 2200000 turns into NFS Road 302 on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest and ends at the junction of NFS Road 302 and NFS Road 1013. Salmo- The entire NFS Road 2220000 will be closed beginning at the junction of NFS Road 2200000 at the Salmo Trailhead. Stoney Creek- This Closure begins at the junction of NFS Road 2200300 and NFS Road 2200000 and ends at the junction of NFS Road 2200300 and NFS Road 2200000. Go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/colville/alerts-notices for all closure information.

Fire information contact is Don Malone at (509) 720-7418 or you can also follow us on Facebook @NEWIMT3 Cell coverage is limited and messages will be checked often. 

9/10 Thor & Slate Creek Fire update
Incident Commander: Shane Robson
Thor & Slate Creek Fire Update
Quick Facts
Approximate Size
Thor Fire       1276 acres
Slate              597 acres
Salmo            320 acres
Gypsy Ridge    17 acres
Containment 0%
Total Personnel 50
Fire Danger Very High
Structures Lost
Primary – 0
Secondary - 0
For Immediate Release - September 10, 2022

A Type 3 Incident Management Team is managing four fires in the same general area. Each fire is burning in remote and rugged terrain with poor access. The fires are not threatening critical infrastructure, wildlife habitat, nor watershed integrity. Further trail closures, however, are planned as public safety remains the highest priority.

The fires were all ignited by lightning as several thunderstorms have passed over the area the past month. The first ignition was discovered on August 13 and the last on September 3, 2022. Managers have taken a confine/contain approach to the suppression of these fires due to the remoteness and rugged terrain.

Thor Fire -The fire is located 5 miles east of Sullivan Lake and burning in a remote area. The fire is approximately 1276 acres. Containment lines are being patrolled and monitored. The fire continues to burn in heavy jackpots of dead and down. Fire behavior has been low, and has offered the ability to take additional time to shore up contingent containment lines.

Slate Fire Update - The Slate Fire is 7 mi. NE of Metaline Falls and is approximately 597 acres. Heavy equipment made good progress yesterday putting in containment line, and crews will continue to shore up that containment line west of the fire today.

Salmo Fire – The Salmo Fire is approximately 4 miles northeast of the Gypsy Meadows Trailhead in the Salmo Priest Wilderness. The fire is approximately 320 acres, and its eastern edge has burned into Idaho. The fire is being monitored by air due to its remote and dangerous access.

Gypsy Ridge – The Gypsy Ridge Fire is located approximately 2 miles west of the Salmo Lookout. The fire is also located in the Salmo Priest Wilderness, and burning in steep rocky terrain with limited access, and is approximately 17 acres. The fire is being monitored due to its remote and dangerous access.

Weather: Temperatures are expected to increase today to around 70 degrees in the higher elevations and close to 80 in the valleys. Humidity is expected to be 24% with poor recoveries overnight at the ridge tops. East winds in the morning at 5-11, becoming northeast 2-6 in the afternoon. There is no precipitation predicted in the forecast over the next week.

Closed Roads: Highline- This closure begins at the junction of NFS Road 2212200 and NFS Road 2212000 and ends at the junction of NFS Road 221200 and NFS Road 2220000. Johns Creek- This closure begins at the junction of NFS Road 2200500 and ends at the NFS Trail #540 (Hall Mountain Trailhead). Sullivan Creek/Pass Creek- This closure begins at the junction of the NFS Road 2200250 and the NFS Road 2200000. NFS Road 2200000 turns into NFS Road 302 on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest and ends at the junction of NFS Road 302 and NFS Road 1013. Salmo- The entire NFS Road 2220000 will be closed beginning at the junction of NFS Road 2200000 at the Salmo Trailhead. Stoney Creek- This Closure begins at the junction of NFS Road 2200300 and NFS Road 2200000 and ends at the junction of NFS Road 2200300 and NFS Road 2200000. Please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/colville/alerts-notices for complete closure information.

Fire information and the Incident Command Post is located at the Sullivan Ranger Station. Fire information contact is Don Malone at (509) 720-7418 or you can also follow us on Facebook @NEWIMT3 Cell coverage is limited and messages will be checked often.

 A Type 3 Incident Management Team is managing 4 fires in the same general area. Each fire is burning in remote steep rugged terrain with limited access. The fires are remote and are not threatening critical infrastructure, wildlife habitat, nor watershed integrity. Further trail closures, however, are planned as public safety remains the highest priority. The fires were all started from lightning as numerous thunderstorms have passed over the area the past three weeks. The first ignition was discovered on August 13 and the last on September 3, 2022. Managers have taken a confine/contain approach to the suppression of these fires due to the remoteness and rugged terrain. Air support is available. 

Thor Fire -The fire is located 5 miles east of Sullivan Lake and burning in a remote area. The fire is approximately 1276 acres. Crews will continue to shore up containment lines around the north, east, and south portions of the fire and watch for any slop overs in those areas. The fire continues to burn mainly in jackstraw piles of dead and down trees in heavy timber.

 Slate Fire Update - The Slate Fire is 7 mi. NE of Metaline Falls. Heavy equipment and crews are improving roads as containment lines and access points to confine fire spread to the southeast. The fire is approximately 597 acres. A recon flight was flown over the area yesterday and the fire is backing and moving slowly.

 Salmo Fire – The Salmo Fire is approximately 4 miles northeast of the Gypsy Meadows Trailhead in the Salmo Priest Wilderness. The fire is approximately 320 acres, and its eastern edge has burned into Idaho. The fire is being monitored by air due to its remote and dangerous access.

 Gypsy Ridge – The Gypsy Ridge Fire is located approximately 2 miles west of the Salmo Lookout. The fire is also located in the Salmo Priest Wilderness, and burning in steep rocky terrain with limited access, and is approximately 17 acres. The fire is being monitored due to its remote and dangerous access.

 Weather: Temperatures are expected to be 61 degrees in the higher elevations and the low 70’s in the valleys. Humidity levels are in the 30’s with poor recoveries overnight at the ridge tops.  Northeast winds are expected 6-10 with gusts in the afternoon of 15-20 mph. Temperatures will be higher and humidity lower going into the weekend.

 Fire is a natural part of the life cycle of the forest and the low to moderate fire behavior exhibited at this time will provide some benefit to the forest landscape as it consumes dead and down timber and overgrown understory.

 Closed Roads: Highline- This closure begins at the junction of NFS Road 2212200 and NFS Road 2212000 and ends at the junction of NFS Road 221200 and NFS Road 2220000. Johns Creek- This closure begins at the junction of NFS Road 2200500 and ends at the NFS Trail #540 (Hall Mountain Trailhead). Sullivan Creek/Pass Creek- This closure begins at the junction of the NFS Road 2200250 and the NFS Road 2200000. NFS Road 2200000 turns into NFS Road 302 on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest and ends at the junction of NFS Road 302 and NFS Road 1013. Salmo- The entire NFS Road 2220000 will be closed beginning at the junction of NFS Road 2200000 at the Salmo Trailhead. Stoney Creek- This Closure begins at the junction of NFS Road 2200300 and NFS Road 2200000 and ends at the junction of NFS Road 2200300 and NFS Road 2200000. Please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/colville/alerts-notices for complete closure information.

  Fire information and the Incident Command Post is located at the Sullivan Ranger Station. Fire information contact is Don Malone at (509) 720-7418 or you can also follow us on Facebook @NEWIMT3 Cell coverage is limited and messages will be checked often.