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III • FIRE M..Llliagement INFORMATION , FIRE ROLE and OCCURRENCE .He Copper River Basin Follows the Gen=Ral Pattern Found

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III • FIRE M..Llliagement INFORMATION , FIRE ROLE and OCCURRENCE .He Copper River Basin Follows the Gen=Ral Pattern Found III • FIRE M..llliAGEMENT INFORMATION I , FIRE ROLE AND OCCURRENCE fj{j£(ru~£c§@~®@@ t Susitna Joint Venture .he Copper River Basin follows the gen=ral pattern found · t Document Number .1 forest region of the northern hemisphere. Fire plays a role in the establishment and appearance of the expansive on. Indeed, the greatest testimonial to the past fire Please Return To r River Basin is in the forest itself, where a complex DOCUMENT CONTROL es indicate where fires have previously burned. This broad ~rom nearly any vantage point in the basin. I The earliest records of exploration by western man contain evidence of the magnitude of fire occurrence during the exploration era of this region. The l [ journals of Canadian explorer-authors W.H. Davies (1843) and A.P. Low (1896) I contain references to numerous large fires. These writers attribute large areas of burned forest to the Native population, who were known to start fires to enhance hunting, to kill insect pests, and to kill timber for firewood. Carelessness with c~~P and cooking fires was al-~ a leading cause of wildfire. Almost all early explorers reported encountering forest fires. William R. Aber­ crombie in his journal of the Copper River Exploring Expedition {1898) described large fires in the vicinity of Klutina Lake. He stated "the entire valley f se~ned to be on fire, which made traveling through the timber very dangerous, l as the falling trees were liable to injw:·e man or beast if they did not stam­ t pede the entire pack train. ti f On his journey to the Tanana River in 1898, E.F. Glenn traveled through the country north of the Tazlina River. He reported, "We entered what we called the 1 bi·~ned district' which seemed tu extend as far as the country is visible I toward the Copper River and to the northward almost to the AJ_aska Range." I With the discovery of gold in the Klondike and copper in the Chitina valley, white men began to bring in their own brand of carelessness. The Copper River Valley was a principal route from the coast to the gold fields of the north. Construction of the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad (CR&ID-7RR} and the Valdez to Eagle telegraph further aided the rapid spread of civilization. With this influx of white men in the Copper River country, an increase in the inci­ dence of man-caused fire was inevitable. There appeared to be a widespread belief that fires '"ere "good :for the land. H Intent,j.onally set fires became 0 m6re corr~on for reasons that included increasing moose browse and grass pro­ duction, to kill mosquitos, and to make prospecting easie~:. Fires due to carelessness also increased. Railroad and construction fires, debris burning, campfires, and tobacco smoking were additional causes of fires. Although there is only fragmented infonnation available about the number and extent of fires duriftg the period from the turn of the cen·tury until the advent of fire control: there were several firas of notable proportions. They include: 1. The 1915 Zourdough Hill Fi.re, which was presumably set by sparks from the C~&~~~- It burned from Chitina to the Kennecott River and from the Chitina River to the mountains on the north; 384,000 acres were burnec1. I' ~"' I '· ' 'I "' I III. FIRE MlillAGEMENT INFORMATION A. HISTORICAL FIRE ROLE AND OCCURRENCE I Fire occurrence in the Copper River Basin follows the general pattern found · throughout the boreal forest region of the northern hemisphere. Fire plays a dominant ecological role in the establishment and appearance of the expansive ~ forests of this region. Indeed, the greatest testimonial to the past fire history of the Copper River E~sin is in the forest itse·lf, where a complex mosaic of forest types indicate where fires have previously burned. Th~s broad ~ mosaic can be seen from nearly any vantage point in the basin. The earliest records of exploration by western man contain evidence of the ·~ magnitude of fire occurrence during the exploration era of this region. The journals of Canadian explorer-authors W.H. Davies (1843) and A.P. Low (1896) contain references to numerous large fires. These writers attribute large areas of burned forest to the Native population, who were kno~m to start fires It.·' to enhance hunting, to kill insect pests, and to kill timber for firewood. Carelessness with camp and cooking fires was also a leading cause of wildfire. ·~ Almost all early e:xplorers reported encountering forest fires. William R. Aber­ crombie in his journal of the Copper River Exploring Expedition (1898) described large fires in the vicinity of Klutina Lake. He stated "the entire valley seemed to be on fire, which made traveling through the timber very dangerous, as the falling trees were liable to injure man or beast if they did not stam­ = pede the entire pack train." c On his journey to the Tanana River in 1898, E.F. Glenn traveled through the country north of the Tazlina River. He reported, "We entered what we called the 'burned district' which seemed to extend as far as the c0untry is visible toward the Copper River and to the northward almost to the Alaska Range." With the discovery of gold in the Klondike and copper in the Chitina valley, white men began to bring in their own brand of carelessness. The Copper River Valley was a principal route from the coast to the gold fields of the north. Constructiou of the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad (CR&NTt7RR) and the Valdez to Eagle telegraph further aided the rapid spread of civilization. With this influx of white men in the Copper River country, an increase in the inci­ dence of man-caused fire was inevitable. There appeared to be a widespread belief that fires were ''good for the land." Intentionally set fires became more common for reasons that included increasing moose browse and grass pro­ duction, to kill mosquitos, and to make prospecting easier. Fires due to carelessness also increased. Railroad and construction fires, debris burning, campfires, and tobacco smoking were additional causes of fires. Although there is only fragmented information available about the number and extent of fires during the period from the turn of the century until the advent of fire control, there were several fires of notable proportions. They include: 1. The 1915 Sourdough Hill Fi~e, which was presumably set by sparks from the I CR&l~. It burned from Chitina to the Kennecott River and from the Chitina River to the mountains on the north; 3$4,000 acres were burned. I I 26 "·".. ·I" ; ,,!", I 2. The 1915 Kenecott Fire was intentionally set to kill timber so as to provide fuel-wood for sale at the Kennecott mine; about 64,000 acres were I burned. 3. The 1927 Willow Creek Fire was started by construction crews and burned between the Copper River and Tonsina River with the Richardson Highway as the western boundary; 128,000 acres were burned. 4, The 1947 Tazlina Fire burned 125,000 acres from Tazlina Lake ta the Glenn Highway. The cause is u~~novm. From 1939 until 1945, fire control in Alaska was the responsibility of the Alaska Fire Control Service of the U.S. General Land Office. In 1946 the Bureau of Land Management became the responsible fire control and record keeping agency. The first complete records available are of the 1953 fire season~ The lack of efficient communication is evident in these early reports. Much of the fire suppression responsiblility fell upon local "Per Diem" guards who inde­ pendently oversaw fire£ighting activities in their area. The dedication and fortitude of such men as V.J. "Judge" Henderson and Fred Rungee were the main factors in keeping fires of this area within managable limits. Improved communication and equipment in the 1960s aided in more effi~ient ini­ tial attack and most fires were suppressed when they were small. However, notable exceptions were the Ahtell Creek fire in 1967 which burned 2,200 acres on both sides of the Tok Highway and threatened the community of Slana and the 1969 Kenny Lake Fire which burned 1,830 acres and several buildings. Both fires were man-caused. In 1979, the State of Alaska acquired fire protection responsibility from the Bureau of Land Management. In June of 1981 1 the Wilson Camp Lightning Fire c burned 13,000 acres on the western slopes of Mt. Drum - 8,000 acres the first day - and threatened to jump the Copper River between Glennallen and Copper Center. ~ " B. FUELS The fuels in the Copper River Basin are similar to those in much of Alaska and contribute to Sllnilar fire behavior and problems. The majority of the fire-prone areas are typified by complexes of fine fuels, both living and dead, which react rapidly to changes in relative humidity. They are capable of rapid drying, even after substantial rainfall. Fuel beds are often con­ tinuous, with few breaks~ Deep organic mats allow fires to be carried beneath the surface, increasing the possibility of hold over fires and the difficulty of mop-up. Black spruce and white spruce are often associated with these fuel complexes and contribute to additional fire behavior considerations. Spruce trees I (especially black spruce) often have branches growing near the ground and retain a large number of dead branches. These dead fuels form a vertical ladder that easily carries a surface fire into the crowns. The problems I 27 ·t associated with cro~1 fires are increased when the spruce grow in dense I stands with closed canopies, forming a continuous fuel bed above the ground.
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