A GROWING SEA OF SNAGS

North Umpqua River Wildfires, 2002-2022: Risks and Recommendations

Prepared for Douglas Timber Operators by Bob Zybach, NW Maps Co.

January 26, 2022 (Rev. June 30, 2022)

The September 8, 2020 Labor Day Fires in western Oregon burned nearly a million acres of land in a three-day period, killed 11 people, destroyed more than 4,000 homes, polluted the air with toxic smoke for nearly two weeks and killed millions of native wildlife. Of these amounts, the Archie Creek Fire, along the North Umpqua River, was responsible for one human death, more than 150 people losing their homes, and over 131,000 acres, mostly forested, being burned. Due to the fire's large size and rapid spread, mortality of native plants and animals approached 100% within much of the fire's perimeter (see Figures 1 and 2).

These fires were typical of catastrophic-scale wildfires of the past 35 years in that they began and grew from federal lands -- USDA National Forest System and USDI Bureau of Land Management (BLM) forestlands. They were atypical in that they also spread rapidly through thousands of acres of industrial timberlands, family farms, recreational developments, and rural communities.

The Labor Day Fires exploded on strong east winds and took place from the California border to the Columbia River. Fuels included millions of snags from earlier fires, crowded mobile homes and trailer parks, "critical habitat" designations, streamside “buffers," roadless areas, industrial plantations, stands of old-growth (trees older than 200 years), and second-growth (merchantable trees less than 200 years). Most trees and snags burned in these events were Douglas fir, but all species of trees, shrubs, and grasses were quickly killed or consumed.

This report is organized in three parts:

1. How snags from previous North Umpqua River basin fires affected the Archie Creek Fire (see Map 1, Table 1).

2. The increasing risks that unsalvaged snags from the 2002-2021 fires will affect human health and safety, transportation and powerline corridors, private property, wildlife populations, and recreational opportunities (p. 10).

3. Recommendations (7) to mitigate effects of Archie Creek Fire and reduce risks of future North Umpqua fires of this magnitude, as a case study (p. 18)

Read full Report:
http://nwmapsco.com/ZybachB/Reports/20220126_North_Umpqua/Zybach-DTO_20220630.pdf