[env-trinity] Analysis shows Bar fires mostly gentle

[Tom Stokely]

            http://times-standard.com/local/ci_4474716
           
                  Analysis shows Bar fires mostly gentle
                  John Driscoll/The Times-Standard
                  Article Launched:10/11/2006 04:18:12 AM PDT
                  Click photo to enlarge 

                  The vast majority of the 100,000-acre wildfire between Willow Creek and Weaverville has burned lightly, with only a small percentage of the trees in the area killed outright, fire managers said. 

                  The Bar Complex fires are still burning, and there may be potential for it to grow some more, as gusty winds were expected Tuesday and humidity remains low. But temperatures are lower and days are shorter, and most of the burning is now well within the fire lines crews have been carving for weeks. 

                  While the last mapping effort to determine the severity of the blaze was done on Sept. 19, fire experts expect the character of the fire to stay about the same. Some 59 percent of the fire on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest burned at a very low intensity, and 18 percent burned at a low intensity. That consumes grasses and some brush, but leaves trees alive. Only 15 percent burned at a moderate intensity and 8 percent burned at a high intensity, in which large areas of trees are killed. 

                  Another such flight is scheduled for this week, but forest ecosystem management officer Alan Olson believes cooler temperatures will likely lead to more gentle burning. Most of the fire is in the Trinity Alps Wilderness, and has effectively removed fuels from the forest over a wide area. That could never have been accomplished mechanically. 

                  ”What options would you have in places that don't have roads or have wilderness values?” Olson said. “Fire is probably the tool you're going to be able to use more and more in the future.” 

                  Olson said he does wish the timing of fires, and the amount of smoke they put out, could be more controllable. 

                  The Bake-Oven Fire started in July from lightning, while the Pigeon Fire started in September and was caused by humans. An investigation is ongoing. 

                  The two fires merged in recent weeks, making the fire one of the largest 15 in California since the 1930s. 

                  The west side of the fire is being called contained, and the east side is nearly wrapped up as well, said fire information officer Tricia Christofferson. She said helicopters remain at the ready to dump water on any hot spots. 

                  There is no plan to try to contain the fire's northern boundary, she said, since that is in the high, rocky alpine country where there is little fuel. 

                  ”There's no reason for us to go up there and impact the land,” Christofferson said. 

                  The final evacuation order in the area -- for residents near Hobo Gulch -- was lifted Tuesday morning. Crews are largely focused on hauling out equipment and debris leftover from the firefighting operations, Christofferson said. 

                  The fire has cost nearly $60 million to fight. 
                 
           
     
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