Badger Fire
A Wildfire Prevention Success Story: Craggy Vegetation Management Project
The Badger Fire Threatens Hawkinsville
On July 18th, 2020, two fires - Humbug and Badger - were reported north of Yreka, California, in CAL FIRE Siskiyou Unit's protection area. Hot, dry conditions, drought-stressed fuels, and steep, rugged terrain made initial attack difficult.
Resources from multiple agencies were mobilized, and aggressive suppression efforts secured the Humbug fire. Shifting winds, however, prompted the Badger fire to grow significantly, ultimately merging with the Humbug. The single fire, known as the Badger, began moving downslope, threatening the area of Hawkinsville and other neighborhoods north of Yreka.
The Badger fire reached over 300 acres by the end of the first day - more than halfway to the 557 acres it would be contained at, ten days later.
Photo courtesy of CAL FIRE Siskiyou Unit
The map at right shows the final Badger fire perimeter, relative to the boundary of Yreka's incorporated area.
Nearly 250 structures lay within the immediate downslope path between the fire and the city limits.
The Craggy Project
In 2018 the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation applied for and received a California Climate Investments Forest Health grant.
Totaling $4.7 M and in a collaborative effort between the Klamath National Forest (Yreka), CAL FIRE, and the Yreka Fire Safe Council, the grant aimed to treat 5,300 acres across public and private ownership.
Treatments include mastication, hand-thinning, piling, prescibed understory burning and overstory thinning through timber sales. They were designed to reduce the fire risk to Yreka and to increase the landscape's resilience to wildfire.
Fire History
The area around Yreka is no stranger to wildfires. The map at left shows the fire history around Yreka and Hawkinsville. It highlights all fires since 1980, with those greater than 5,000 acres shown more prominently.
Craggy Project Treatments
The Craggy Project is extensive, as seen in the map at left. $4.7 M was awarded to treat 5,300 acres between Klamath National Forest, CAL FIRE Siskiyou Unit, and the Yreka Fire Safe Council.
At the time of the Badger incident, some 600 acres of mastication and 1,400 acres of hand thinning had already been completed.
The western part of the Badger Fire reached areas within the Craggy Project footprint that had been treated using mastication.
Mastication involves mechanical thinning of the forest understory. The residual biomass can be piled, removed, or left in situ, depending on the project.
Photo Credit: KNF
Mastication has forest health benefits on its own, as it opens up the forest floor and allows existing vegetation more access to light and soil nutrients.
Photo Credit: CAL FIRE SKU
This treatment method also reduces ladder fuels, which would otherwise allow fire to spread from the ground to the crowns of trees.
Photo Credit: CAL FIRE SKU
As a result, fire spread slowed in masticated treatment areas as crown fire transitioned to surface fire.
Fuel treatments, beyond affecting the way fire moves through wildland areas, also make the job of suppression easier.
Cleared and treated areas provide important access to suppression personnel, and make the on-the-ground work of installing line much more efficient.
Photo Credit: KNF
On the Badger fire the reduction in the rate of spread and cleared vegetation allowed bulldozers time to safely build indirect fireline across the bottom of the of the fire.
The lack of brush also reduced the need for follow up saw work, freeing up crews to work on other areas of the fire and mop up. All part of achieving containment.
Photo Credit: KNF
A Fire Prevention Success Story
The areas around Yreka, including the community of Hawkinsville, are no strangers to wildfires. The Badger incident was one of the latest in a long history, and it will not be the last. But it could have been considerably worse.
The fire was declared contained at 557 acres on July 28th, 2020, ten days after initially reported. The incident was large enough, and the fire moved quickly enough, to prompt evacuations in nearby communities. But the Craggy Project played a pivotal role in reducing the rate of spread, allowing access to suppression personnel, and keeping the fire out of local communities. It is a successful example of fuel treatments preserving life, property, and natural resources.
Already a success, the Craggy Project is not even fully implemented. The rest of the project, carried out collaboratively, is expected to be completed by 2025. It will likely play a role in protecting communities and fostering a resilient landscape well into the future.
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