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<DIV class=articleTitle>Analysis shows Bar fires mostly
gentle</DIV><!--subtitle--><!--byline-->
<DIV class=articleByline>John Driscoll/The
Times-Standard</DIV><!--date-->
<DIV class=articleDate>Article Launched:10/11/2006 04:18:12 AM
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<P>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.
<P>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.
<P>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.
<P>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. </P>
<P>”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.”
<P>Olson said he does wish the timing of fires, and the amount
of smoke they put out, could be more controllable.
<P>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.
<P>The two fires merged in recent weeks, making the fire one
of the largest 15 in California since the 1930s.
<P>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.
<P>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.
<P>”There's no reason for us to go up there and impact the
land,” Christofferson said.
<P>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.
<P>The fire has cost nearly $60 million to fight.
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