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Project ID: 04-2-1-110

Year: 2004

Date Started: 07/23/2004

Date Completed: 01/02/2008

Title: Learning From the Past: Retrospective Analysis of Fire Behavior in Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks

Project Proposal Abstract: Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks have identified a critical need to be able to understand and track the consequences of their fire suppression decisions. To address this local research need, we will use retrospective fire behavior modeling and risk-benefit assessments for suppressed lightning ignitions that have occurred since 1991 in the two Parks. For the first time, the Parks will be able to quantify the consequences of their suppression decisions. We will determine where lightning ignitions would have spread had they not been suppressed and we will assess the effects that would have resulted from these fires. The proposed project combines fire behavior modeling technology with the information contained in the Parks' fire records and the local experience of the current fire management staff to better understand and quantify the consequences of suppression decisions. Results from our analyses will be compiled and presented in a GIS data library that will allow easy reference for managers during the fire season when making the decision whether or not to suppress, when preparing Stage III Wildland Fire Implementation Plan (WFIP) analyses, and when developing appropriate management response on suppression incidents. Furthermore, the project will develop methodology and step-by-step procedures for conducting these retrospective analyses so that Park fire management staff can update and add to this information resource annually. The information and understanding generated by this research will improve the prioritization and planning of fuels management activities by supplementing the Fire Return Interval Departure analysis that is routinely done by both Parks. The results of our analyses will allow park managers to frame future decisions and cost-benefit analyses in the context of past experiences, to track the cumulative effects of suppression, and to communicate tradeoffs to the public and other governmental entities. As all land managers need to understand and track the consequences of their fire management decisions, the methods we develop will have broad national applicability and will provide a template for conducting similar analyses.

Principal Investigator: Carol L. Miller

Agency/Organization: Forest Service

Branch or Dept: RMRS-Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Co-Principal Investigator	Anne E. Black	Forest Service	RMRS-Forestry Sciences Lab-Missoula
Federal Cooperator	Carol L. Miller	Forest Service	RMRS-Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute

Project Locations

Consortium

California

There are no project locations identified for this project.

Project Deliverables

Final Report ("Results presented in JFSP Final Reports may not have been peer-reviewed and should be interpreted as tentative until published in a peer-reviewed source.")

	ID	Type	Title
	9400	Refereed Publication	Journal article: The Hidden Consequences of Fire Suppression. Park Science.
	8020	NonRefereed Publication	Journal article: Quantifying the Consequences of Fire Suppression in Two California National Parks. The George Wright Forum.
	9399	NonRefereed Publication	General Technical Report: Retrospective Fire Modeling: Quantifying the Impacts of Fire Suppression.
	9383	NonRefereed Publication	Web material: Learning from the Past: Retrospective Analyses of Fire Behavior in Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks
	8866	Invited Paper/Presentation	Research to Support Wildland Fire Use Decisions in Yosemite NP
	7991	Poster	What if We Didn’t Suppress Fire?
	5223	Poster	Retrospective Fire Modeling to Quantify the Cumulative Effects of Suppression
	7392	Poster	Retrospective Fire Modeling to Quantify the Cumulative Effects of Suppression
	7391	Progress Report
	7390	Progress Report

Supporting Documents

There are no supporting documents available for this project.

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