Tree thinning seen as factor in limiting fire
Peter Fimrite - Chronicle Staff Writer
August 4, 2007
South Lake Tahoe -- The Angora Fire, which destroyed 254 homes in South Lake Tahoe, would have been worse if forestry officials had not previously removed brush and thinned woodlands, according to a U.S. Forest Service report released Friday.
At the same time, many homeowners failed to take precautions against fire. As a result, overgrown brush, stacked firewood, pine needles and other debris helped spread the flames, the analysis stated.
The 32-page report is the most comprehensive assessment yet of the 3,072-acre blaze that started June 24 after a campfire was left unattended. Swept by strong winds, the fire raced through Angora Creek, spreading four miles in three hours, immolating most of the homes within the first few hours and causing $153 million in damage.
Craig Thomas of Sierra Forest Legacy, a coalition of 100 conservation advocacy organizations in the Sierra Nevada, said he agrees with the report's findings but is concerned it could be used as an excuse for logging operations.
"We're not opposed to commercial thinning if it complies with what the fire model says is justified to restore the forest," Thomas said. "But we don't want the public misled into thinking that there needs to be a big tree logging program."
The report analyzed fire behavior in the 480 acres that had undergone "fuel treatment," or vegetation thinning activities, and compared them with untreated areas within the fire zone. The report showed a marked decrease in the intensity of the fire in treated areas as opposed to roaring fires in the untreated areas.
It also showed that many homes ignited when embers landed on wooden decks and shake roofs. "Many of the homes burned because of embers from other burning homes, rather than from wildland fuel," said forest service spokesman Matt Mathes. "Basically, this report shows that we need both thinning in the national forests and defensible homes on private land to prevent future Angora Fires. Either one by itself is not enough."