Before and After the Flames: Forest, Fire and Climate Change in the Wake of the King Fire

The El Dorado Chapter of the California Native Plant Society presents Before and After the Flames: Fire, Forest and Climate Change in the Sierra Nevada, a talk by Dr. Hugh D. Safford, Senior Vegetation Ecologist for the US Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region (including California, Hawaii and Pacific Islands) and Dr. Becky Estes, ecologist with the the US Forest Service, Tuesday, January 27th, 7pm at the Planning Commission Meeting Room, Building C of the County Office Buildings, 2850 Fairlane Court in Placerville. The presentation is free and open to the public.

It's no secret that things have certainly "gotten hot" in the Eldorado National Forest and throughout the Sierra Nevada over the past two years.

In a seeming preview to the huge King Fire, the Sand Fire in the south Country burned through some 4,200 acres a few months before the King Fire. And the year before, in the summer of 2013, the Rim Fire near Yosemite became the most destructive fire in modern Sierra Nevada history, burning over 400 square miles and taking 9 weeks to put out.

Then came the King Fire, started September 13, 2014 by an arsonist in Pollock Pines, and eventually growing to almost 100,000 acres before being contained nearly a month later. Control required almost 7,500 fire personnel, and only then with the timely help of an inch of rain on Sept. 24. Much of the area north, east and west of Pollock Pines experienced a high severity fire which not only killed all the trees, but also incinerated the layer of humus on the soil’s surface, and even burned into the top layer of the soil itself. As a result, the burned soil resists rain penetration, leading to high water run-off and possible mudslides on the steep slopes during future rains in the area. Coupled with that, on the down slope of the high and steep forest ridges are roads, valuable fisheries, and hydroelectric and water storage facilities.

Why did these conflagrations happen? What is the future of Sierra Nevada forests after years of fire suppression and in the face of global climate change?

In the effort to be better able to respond to future fires, and to better manage the National Forests for sustainability and health, scientists and forest professionals from a broad range of disciplines are coming together to study the fires, their causes, their impacts, and ways to lessen their severity and ensure long term forest health. From soil scientists to atmospheric scientists, foresters to ecologists, questions are being posed and answers sought.

Consider soil: “What influences the burn severity (of the soil) is the amount of organic material on the ground," says Eric Nicita, a soil scientist with the US Forest Service and coordinator for the Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) team, tasked with coming up with a plan for the King Fire forest area and its ecological restoration. "If it’s a nice clean forest with little buildup, those generally don’t burn that hot,” he goes on. Unfortunately, the area burned in the King Fire in the Eldorado National Forest this past fall hadn't experienced a significant ground fire for over 120 years. The Burn Area Emergency Response team's task will be to try to protect the most vulnerable slopes, but there isn’t enough money to protect all areas liable to slide. This chapter of the King Fire will continue to unfold this winter. The questions are difficult and complex; the answers are no easier.

Some of these questions will be examined, and answers suggested by Dr. Hugh Safford on Jan. 27, 2015 during his talk sponsored by the El Dorado Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Dr. Safford, the senior vegetation ecologist for the US Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region that includes California, Hawaii and Pacific Islands, is uniquely qualified to address these questions. Dr. Safford’s areas of professional expertise are community and landscape ecology, climate change, and forest and disturbance ecology. He manages a large staff of ecologists for the USDA Forest Service who provide expertise in vegetation and fire ecology and work to apply a broad range of science to resource management in 18 National Forests in California.

“The time to “recovery” depends on many factors, many of which are out of our control, like climate, soil fertility, topography, and pre-fire forest composition,” said Dr. Safford. Even the definition of “recovery” is a slippery slope; says Dr. Safford “We don’t want the climatic climax forest to re-emerge, as that would be a white fir-dominated forest, which is very fire sensitive, not very drought tolerant, and not very species diverse. It would be nice to be able to get a more resilient forest, one dominated by fire- and drought-tolerant pines. But that would not be the climax (forest)”.

In addition, Dr. Safford will discuss how past, present, and future climate change interacts with recent fire-suppression and wildfire in Sierra Nevada forests. While his focus will be on vegetation, plant diversity and a few key animal species, he'll also touch on the effects of climate change and wildfire on carbon, water, and soil, and how this knowledge affects forest management practices.

His talk will be followed by a short talk by Dr. Becky Estes, an ecologist for the El Dorado National Forest, who will discuss some of the specifics of forest recovery and emerging recovery plans following the King Fire. Both Dr. Safford and Dr. Estes will take audience questions at the end of their talks.

Dr. Safford and Dr. Estes talk Before and After the Flames: Forest, Fire and Climate Change in the Sierra Nevada will be Tuesday, January 27th at 7pm at the Planning Commission Meeting Room, El Dorado County Office Building "C", 2850 Fairlane Court. The presentation, presented by the El Dorado Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, is free and open to the public. Refreshments, announcements, and sharing of native plant news of interest this time of year precede the presentation.

For more information, email eldoradocnps@gmail.com or on Facebookc: www.facebook.com/ElDoradoCNPS. Or call 530-748-9365.