It’s good news for the timber industry as some environmentalists are beginning to dial back their push against commercial logging.

As the nation is facing a growing number of what have been coined “megafires” to describe wildfires in recent years, attention has turned to the cause and current management of the national forests.

Wildfire records were set in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, 100,000 acres burned in Washington with a dramatic increase in megafires. It has been reported that in 2015, the economic costs, in addition to suppression efforts, topped $50 billion dollars. This is according to a presentation given by Dr. Paul Hessburg last week in Missoula. Nearly half of the Forest Service budget is now spent on fire suppression activities, which was a little over $7 billion in 2016.

Hessburg has worked with the Pacific Northwest Research Station and U.S. Forest Service for the past 27 years and put together the presentation, “Era of Megafires.” It was held at the University of Montana on April 24, hosted by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Northern Rockies Fire Science Network, USFS, Lolo National Forest.

Foresters, environmentalists, local government officials and the public gathered to hear what is causing these highly destructive wildfires and what can be done to stop them. Mineral County Commissioners Duane Simons and Roman Zylawy, along with Superior District Ranger Carole Johnson attended.

Hessburg has studied the Western landscape and how it has changed. During his presentation, he talked about the different types of forest, dry, moist and cold forests and how each burns differently in the event of a wildfire.

He has explored the development of the Forest Service and its practices regarding fire suppression, as well as the timber industry through the last century, climate change, and the wildlife urban interface and how these factors have all contributed to the onslaught of megafires.

A megafire is the destruction of most the trees in large areas. This was something seen during last summer’s Copper King Fire which burned over 28,000 acres east of Thompson Falls, wiping out large swaths of trees. Forest Service personnel reported the fire burned so hot that there were no trees left to salvage in some areas.

“We can do something about how wildfires affect our homes, our towns and the landscape that surrounds them,” said Hessman. “This is a social problem, it’s our problem and we all need to work together to solve that problem.”

Part of the solution lies in the timber industry, he said. An environmentalist interviewed in the presentation stated that “we used to protest against old growth logging. I’ve come around to believing that we do need the timber industry, and the infrastructure and there’s evidence that thinning and prescribed fire, which can be controlled, definitely results in less severe fires.”

An ever-changing landscape

To understand this change in philosophy, Hessman took the audience back through the history of man versus wildfire and also looked at the various landscapes that makeup our national forests. There are three broad forest types: Dry, moist and cold.

Dry forests are at low elevations and primarily have medium to large size trees with meadows. Typically, they don’t burn very hot and the wildfires are considered “low severity”. These will clean up floor bottoms and gives plants a chance to rejuvenate.

A moist forest is cooler and the has a dense mix of tree and is considered a higher severity in the case of fire. Areas may burn one to two-thirds and leave gabs between trees. These occur approximately every 25 to 50 years. In a cold forest, the trees grow most densely and at higher elevations. There is a heavier snow pack and cooler temperatures. Fires are infrequent and occur about every 150 to 300 years. These types of fires are also very destructive and kill about 75 to 100 percent of the trees. They are considered high severity fires and historically leave behind small islands of trees scattered throughout the landscape. They also provide a seed source for regenerating the next generation of forest. Without these small islands of trees, it’s hard for a forest to come back after a fire.

A key factor to understanding megafires, is that each type of forest that burns leaves a different type of patchwork. If a fire burns very hot, it will stop at a patch that had been previously burned because the understory and smaller trees are not there to provide fuel.

Another important point is that fire is a part of the natural cycle in a forest. Trees like Ponderosa Pine have a thick bark that protects them from the heat of the fires. The seedlings also need the minerals exposed by fires in order to grow. Also, plants like balsamroot re-sprout after a fire and keep the ground from erosion and feeds deer, elk and sheep.

Lodgepole pinecones actually open after a fire. Racine droplets seal each cone and it’s not until the heat of a fire melts it that the cones open and the seeds fall to the ground. Hessman also pointed out that mudslides, boulders, and downed trees all bring minerals downhill into streams and rivers. These help the fish habitat.

He also discussed the history of fire, and how Native American’s used fire to help with pest and weed control, and provided forage for horses and wildlife.

“Fire can be destructive, but it can also be very good,” he commented.

He also took the audience through the era of the timber barons and the years of harvesting old growth trees. These trees were the basically the forest ‘anchors’ and were fire tolerant. Leaving younger trees to fill in the gaps which are not fire tolerant and are more susceptible to disease like pine beetles.

“A new forest structure was beginning to emerge, one that was denser, layered, closer together and shade tolerant,” the presentation stated.

Once these and other factors were presented, Hessburg reviewed the circumstances, “we excluded and suppressed fires for 100 years, timber harvest removed large, old growth fire tolerant timber, small trees with thin bark grew in their place. Woody fuels after these harvest increased to powder keg levels in many places. Winter snowpacks are declining, hot dry windy summers are more common, conditions are favoring longer fire seasons and we’re building homes in these areas. We are seeing destructive fires in all forest types (dry, moist, cold) which is killing all or most of the trees in large areas, preventing the forest from recovering for decades and maybe centuries.”

What can be done to help prevent these megafires?

Despite the dire outlook, Hessburg said there are ways to overcome these megafires. The first thing is to educate the public on these

issues in order to garner support. Tools in the box include prescribed burns to help control wildfires. By strategically burning it helps control the fire, and the smoke.

Also, mechanical thinning is areas especially close to the urban interface.

“Are we able to harvest in ways that are profitable and good for the health and resilience of the forests at the same time?” he said, “we think so, times have changed, methods have changed. There is a need for active management on the forest landscape. If the forests are homogenous, fires have an easier time burning more severely. We do need the timber industry to make the forest more resilient.”

Thinning out the trees helps to handle the fire and disease and also helps carve out business in rural communities. The smaller diameter timber make 2x4 board, chipwood for pulp for paper plants, and biomass to power facilities.

“When I talk to people who are very concerned about any tree cutting in the national forests, they’ve seen the big clear cuts of the past and have been convinced that logging is bad. I emphasize that we aren’t thinning every acre of the forest. We are going to focus on the areas that might burn hottest and areas that are closest to communities. The right thing to do in our public forest is to apply science, utilize a timber industry that can utilize a small diameter tree, and take strict conservation measures and get to work on the landscape level of restoring our forests,” Hessburg said.

Homeowners who live in the wildland urban interface areas can also do their part in preparing their homes in case of a wildfire. By learning tactical decision making and creating defensible space around their property they can minimize property destruction. Local fire districts and the forest service often provides fire mitigation programs for local homeowners.

The Frenchtown Rural Fire District offers homeowner hazard assessments in the Petty Creek area near Alberton. Also, Mineral County Planner, Tim Read said they are putting together a more comprehensive fire mitigation program for county residents and they are hoping to have it ready to go later this spring.

They show homeowners how to clear trees and brush from their property and where to put fire breaks. As well as other preventative tips such as where to store firewood, cleaning gutters and reducing fire ladders on the property. Funding may also be available to help homeowners with costs associated with fire mitigation practices.