Document text
OVERCAST Temp: 43 °F Wind: SSW at 5 mph Monday, December 16, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend November 16, 2002 Wildfire is part of the ecology By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune ASHLAND — After nearly 30 years studying wildfires in southwest Oregon, scientist Tom Atzet has drawn some conclusions in the ashes. "Fire is a process — we need to let it be part of the system," stressed the ecologist for the Rogue River, Siskiyou and Umpqua national forests. "We cannot control everything, but we can be intelligent about the control we do have," he added. As evidence that humankind cannot control all fires, he cited a demonstration plot on the Siskiyou in the Illinois Valley that was established to illustrate how the risk of wildfire could be minimized. "Severe wildfire came through there," he said, referring to the 1987 Silver fire. "What happened was that the fire was at the bottom of the hill about 2 o’clock in the afternoon when the inversion lifted." The result was a chimney effect as the fire raced up the hill, he said. "We’ve seen that time and again," he said of similar circumstances. "It doesn’t matter what’s there. If anything is there, it will burn. And it will burn intensely." The lesson learned is that fire models work well until they comes up against the chaos of weather, he said. "No matter how hard you prepare, you are not without risk," he stressed. "There is no stand that is without risk. You are not in control of this process, no matter what you think you’ve done." Atzet made the comments during a lecture on fire ecology Friday afternoon at Southern Oregon University. He has studied the roughly 100,000-acre Silver fire that swept through the Siskiyou forest in 1987, and has begun to study the nearly half-million acre Biscuit fire, which burned much of the forest this past summer. The Biscuit fire, which blanketed the Silver fire, was the largest wildfire in the nation this year. Fires always burn in a mosaic of different severities as it travels across the land, often burning lightly, he said. For instance, only 15 percent of the Silver fire area burned at a high severity level while about 17 percent of the Biscuit fire area burned at that level, he noted. But if humankind continues fire suppression at the same levels, there is a likelihood there will be an increase in high-severity fires, he predicted. Fire suppression over the nearly hundred years that the Forest Service has been in existence has created more fuel that is creating the potential for large fires, he said. It is also changing the nature of the predominant species in the areas where the fires are frequent, he concluded. A wildfire is nature’s chaotic way of making sure the natural system sustains itself, he said. "Fire is a pervasive ecosystem process," he said. "It is everywhere. Not only is it pervasive, it is essential for ecosystem change. "It is kind of an agent of change to ensure our ecosystems remain healthy," he added. Humans should also be aware that what they deem as a negative may be a normal, healthy process of nature, he observed. "Insects and (plant) diseases are something that humans don’t particularly like but they are an important part of nature," he said. Atzet is joining a group of Pacific Northwest scientists this weekend making a field trip to the area burned by the Biscuit fire. "The whole idea is to get more information and get more and more people working together," he said. But the scientist warned it will be a long time before humans fully accept wildfire and its vital role. However, he believes there is a move toward allowing some fires to burn in areas where no homes are threatened. "My dream is that some day when a lightning storm goes up the middle of the Ashland watershed, the people in Ashland have prepared to the point where they say, ‘It’s a process. There is only going to be so much severe fire. Our water is going to keep flowing.’ "And nobody is going to panic," he added. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S