JFSP Project Details

Project ID: 07-1-2-13

Year: 2007

Start Date: 06/01/2007

End Date: 03/30/2010

Title: Do fuel treatments reduce fire severity? Evaluating treatment effectiveness in the 2006 Tripod Complex fires

Project Proposal Abstract: The 2006 Tripod Complex fires offer a rare opportunity to evaluate how a large number of well-documented fuel treatments affected fire severity (e.g., tree mortality) and facilitated operational aspects of fire suppression. The wildfires initiated as two lightning strikes and spread over 175,000 acres of mixed conifer forest in the Okanogan National Forest. Of the many fuel treatments the Methow Valley Ranger District conducted over the past 10 years, several were used for burnout operations near the town of Winthrop, Washington. An additional 19 thinned units and 10 thinned and prescribed-burn units were involved in the wildfire. Woody fuel loading, duff depths, and forest stand characteristics are available for the fuel treatment units. In this study, we will: (1) quantify how effective fuel treatments were in reducing fire severity, (2) assess the value of past treatments and past fires as points of defensibility for fire suppression, and (3) compare actual measures of fire severity with predictions made in the Fire and Fuels Extension of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS). Retrospective fire behavior will be modeled using real-time fire weather data and daily fire progression maps to provide a context for observed and modeled fire effects. This study will provide critical information on the effectiveness of fuel treatments in modifying fire behavior and fire severity, and will inform the design of effective fuel treatment strategies and prescriptions as a component of adaptive management in dry interior forests.

Principal Investigator: Susan J Prichard

Agency/Organization: University of Washington

Branch or Dept: College of Forest Resources

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Federal Cooperator	David L. Peterson	Forest Service	PNW-Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab
Federal Fiscal Representative	Tamatha S. Verhunc	Forest Service	PNW-Pacific Northwest Research Station

Project Deliverables

ID	Type	Description
8244	Invited Paper/Presentation	Presented research findings to the Methow Valley Ranger District. Fire and fuel managers, ecologists, and the district ranger attended and participated in a 2-hour presentation and group discussion.
8243	Progress Report
8245	Progress Report

Supporting Documents

There are no supporting documents available for this project.

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