Thankfully, the Dixie Fire is now 94% contained. We actually had a couple days with almost no smoke, and then the unbelievable happened. While the end was in sight for that historic fire, a woman allegedly and intentionally started a new fire in Redding, CA. Such a surreal situation, it almost seems like it’s fictional, but it is not. We woke up on September 23^rd to find out there was a 150-acre fire, the Fawn Fire, burning on the northeast side of Redding, and by the end of our workday, it had grown to over 5000 acres. That’s what the historically dry and hot (add in windy) conditions can do once a fire has started. The Fawn Fire is fully contained, but over 200 structures were damaged or destroyed. So what does Sierra Pacific Industries do to pick up the pieces and turn that scarred land into something good again?

Timber Harvest Plan

Part of a California Registered Professional Foresters’ job is to write Timber Harvesting Plans (THP). The THPs are the environmental review documents submitted by landowners to Cal Fire outlining what timber he or she wants to harvest, how it will be harvested, and the steps that will be taken to prevent damage to the environment. These comprehensive detailed plans can range from about 100 pages to more than 500 pages. In California and Washington, timber harvests are conducted only after a review and approval by state regulatory agencies. Before any trees can be cut, the THP is examined to make sure the activities in the plan are consistent with laws, regulations, and company policies.  

While all that work goes into researching and writing a Timber Harvesting Plan, when a fire comes through and burns trees in another area, a landowner can switch gears and request approval to conduct post-fire timber salvage activities on their property. This is what Sierra Pacific Industries has had to do multiple times in the last few years. We pivot and immediately get to work to harvest the burned areas as quickly as possible. Burned trees can still be harvested, but the clock starts ticking right away. Trees must be removed before bugs start to infiltrate and cause the wood to rot. Foresters have to switch gears quickly and create new plans for removing the burned trees within 12 – 18 months of a wildfire. Driving home from work last week, I passed a log truck, full of burned logs that were harvested from one of the many fires that hit the area last year.

Wildfires this year have had an unprecedented impact on our lives, our property, and our forest resources. As we recover from these wildfires; landowners, Registered Professional Foresters, Licensed Timber Operators, and other private and government resource professionals will be heavily relied upon to assist in remediation, mitigation, and restoration of wildfire impacted forested landscapes. Landowners should be aware of the requirements that apply to timber operations; particularly when those operations are conducted in sensitive environmental settings such as post-wildfire conditions. Landowners that plan to conduct post-fire timber salvage activities on their property need to understand how to avoid any impact to water quality, fish, wildlife, and native plants, and the habitats upon which these species depend. And one more thing to note, carbon continues to be sequestered in the remaining good part of the logs. SPI’s quick response to these fires allows more of the burned trees to be utilized and developed into usable products helping to ensure more carbon will stay sequestered in these products for a longer period of time.

Hydrophobic Soils

The combustion of vegetative materials creates a gas that penetrates the soil profile. As the soil cools, this gas condenses and forms a waxy coating. This causes the soil to repel water – a phenomenon called hydrophobicity. This hydrophobic condition increases the rate of water runoff. Percolation of water into the soil profile is reduced, making it difficult for seeds to germinate and for the roots of surviving plants to obtain moisture. One of many positive side effects resulting from Sierra Pacific Industries harvesting the burn scars is the disruption of the charred soil, minimizing the erosion potential. Because SPI works as quickly as possible to harvest burned trees, the machinery that is used to cut the trees also breaks up the hydrophobic zone allowing rainfall to penetrate the soil and minimize surface erosion. The logging equipment churning up the burned soil will also better prepare the area for replanting efforts and help increase seedling survival rates.

Our Professional Forester Eric Wertz describes what Sierra Pacific Industries does after we’ve lost forestland to a wildfire.

Once the fire is contained and no longer spreading we will start getting into the burned areas and immediately start prepping for salvage operations.  This includes evaluating burn severity, determining logging methods, and start flagging creek protection zones, property lines, and laying out any new roads that will need to be constructed.  Once we have the areas mapped out we submit a notice of emergency timber operations form to Cal Fire and can start removing the burned trees 5 days after we submit that form.  Generally, we are logging most burn scars within a month of fire containment, sometimes sooner.

Replanting

The persistence of forest values in areas that have burned at high intensity would be better protected and restored if many of the dead trees were removed to reduce the fuels in the area to prevent the shifting of vegetation communities. Planting a mix of native conifer tree species following such a treatment would expedite the regrowth of trees adapted and endemic to the area. During the restored forest’s lifetime, these conifer trees would grow up amongst the residual large old tree elements retained to maintain the functional habitat qualities of this regenerating forest. All of the regrowth would also sequester the carbon previously emitted during the fire, thus mitigating those greenhouse gas emissions. Restoring forests burned at high intensity would lower the risk of those lands reburning at high intensity.

For these reasons, doing nothing in the areas impacted by high-intensity fire is an unacceptable risk to forest values. Restoration of these areas to prevent a type change, increase carbon sequestration, and maintain the elements necessary for the new forest to functionally support all the indigenous wildlife species at healthy levels mitigates this risk. To mitigate high-intensity fire careful salvage harvesting should be encouraged to capture carbon in wood products and reduce the post-fire fuel loading.

Over the years, I’ve heard our foresters explain all the things we do after a fire and all the benefits that come from those activities. After harvesting, SPI Foresters go back in and replant those burn areas. The goal is to restore the forest as quickly as possible and prevent environmental degradation. We analyze the fire site to determine the impact on soil erosion, water quality, and plant and wildlife habitat. The equipment that is used for harvesting, is also breaking up the fire-hardened surface and creating a soil surface that will allow water to soak into the soil and stay on the land, instead of running over the top of the hardened surfaces (like it would in areas where the burned trees are left alone).

SPI maintains an extensive "seed bank" that stores seeds collected from the conifers growing on Sierra Pacific lands. After a major fire, we use these seeds to grow seedlings that will be used to replant the burned area with trees native to the site. SPI’s salvage operations will allow the area to be cleared and quickly replanted with young healthy trees that will rapidly grow into a new forest. These healthy trees will sequester large amounts of carbon through their life cycle as they grow and allow the area to recover quicker from these devastating fires.

We know how to manage forests so they are less prone to drought and severe wildfire. Sierra Pacific Industries is committed to managing its land responsibly and sustainably to protect the environment while providing quality wood products and renewable power for consumers. To Sierra Pacific, sustainable forest management means more than just planting trees.

Thank you for reading our 3-part series on Wildfires. If you ever have a question for one of our Foresters or Architectural Consultants, don’t hesitate to ask.

Additional Resources

• Colorado State University Extension “Soil Erosion Control after Wildfire” R. Moench and J. Fusaro

Photo & Video credits and information:

photo 1 New growth, Pexels  photo 2 SPI Harvesting Operation.  photo 3 SPI crewmembers prepare to replant.  photo 5  SPI Tree Nursery.  photo 6 SPI Spring Garden Tract