16 Winter 2017 Applegater
Upper Applegate Watershed planning
and the Miller Complex Fire
BY DON BOUCHER
Lightning in mid-August ignited over
30 fires within the Siskiyou Mountains
Ranger District. Ongoing fires across the
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest,
including the Chetco Bar Fire and the High
Cascades Complex, quickly overwhelmed
firefighting resources. Of these 30-plus
fires, all but five were quickly contained.
In late August an incident management
team (IMT) arrived to help manage the
fires, which were divided into east and west
zones with the fires west of the Applegate
River managed by the IMT as the Miller
Complex, comprised of the larger Burnt
Peak, Abney, and Creedence fires, as well
as numerous small lightning fires. Fires on
the east side were managed by a local team.
Within the Upper Applegate Watershed
Restoration Project area, the Burnt Peak
Fire burned approximately 4,600 acres in
the Palmer and Kinney Creek drainages.
Based on the preliminary Burned Area
Emergency Response (BAER) report, an
estimated four percent of the fire burned
at a high severity, 28 percent at moderate
severity, and 50 percent at low severity,
while roughly 18 percent of the area within
the perimeter of the fire was unburned. (The
BAER reports for all the fires are available
at fs.usda.gov/rogue-siskiyou.) These
numbers were estimated using a Burned
Area Reflectance Classification (BARC)
model, which is based on a satellite-derived
map of post-fire conditions. BARC maps
compare satellite images of near-infrared
reflectance values to those of shortwave
infrared reflectance values. Near-infrared
light is largely reflected by healthy green
vegetation, while shortwave infrared light
is largely reflected by rock and bare soil.
Based on the preliminary BAER
report, the US Forest Service (USFS) has
determined several actions it could take to
protect human life and property, to reduce
or minimize threats to life and property,
and to prevent unacceptable degradation to
natural or cultural resources. For the Burnt
Peak Fire, recommended actions include
road-hazard signing, storm-proofing of
roads in the burned areas, and patrolling
the area after major storms to make sure
drainage structures are functioning.
On August 1, the USFS distributed
a scoping letter for the Upper Applegate
Watershed Restoration Project (UAWRP)
to interested parties, seeking comments
on proposed activities designed
to address landscape resilience to
disturbance and climate change.
On September 7 we mailed a
second notice, postponing the
scoping deadline for the UAWRP
Burnt Peak Fire burning along Kinney Creek Road.
due to ongoing fires in the Miller
Complex, including the Burnt Peak Fire the burn perimeter are the same as in the
in the Upper Applegate Watershed. We original scoping project.
wanted to delay scoping in order to take
While the BAER report looks at
a close look at the fire and how it might emergency post-fire needs, the planning
affect the proposed action. Now that the effort of the Upper Applegate Watershed
Burnt Peak Fire has been contained, we are offers an opportunity to look at long-term
resuming the scoping. The revised deadline restoration needs within the burned area.
was November 22, 2017.
Among actions that would answer those
The proposed action would affect some needs might be noncommercial thinning
areas within the Burnt Peak Fire perimeter: in patches of small trees scorched by the
several units identified for prescribed fire, prescribed fire to maintain burned
burning (for oak and pine restoration), areas, and the planting of native seeds or
several units identified for noncommercial seedlings in areas with high-severity fire.
thinning (plantations), and 270 acres that
We look forward to having discussions
fall within the Upper Applegate Road with the community in regard to the fires.
Hazardous Fuels Reduction project. The If you have questions or would like more
burn severity in most of these areas was information, please feel free to contact me.
low to moderate.
Don Boucher • 541-899-3840
Although there may be minor
Upper Applegate Team Leader
modifications during implementation,
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
the proposed activities that fall within
dboucher@fs.fed.us
The map on the left outlines the Burnt Peak Fire Area within the Upper Applegate Watershed
Planning Area. The photo below shows the mixed-severity fire effects on the Burnt Peak Fire.