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Fire in the Oak Wild Lands

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Fire in the Oak Wild Lands California Oaks is a fund within California Wildlife Foundation, federal identification SPRING/SUMMER 2015 number 68-0234744. All contributons for oak conservation of land, cash, stocks or bonds are tax deductible under the law. Please consider including oak conservation in your financial and estate planning efforts. www.californiaoaks.org Fire in the Oak Wild Lands Table 2: OAK SPECIES GROWING IN CALIFORNIA Tom Gaman Registered Professional Forester Tree oaks: he oak conservation commu- California Engelmann oak Island oak nity has worked tirelessly on “Island Oak in Santa Rosa Island” T black oak by :en:Geographer efforts to conserve and protect Cal- ifornia’s oak woodlands. We must now add fire to the list of serious Blue oak Garry oak John-Tucker oak oak issues in California (see Ta- “Large Blue Oak” by Yath “Lone oak” by Llywrch “Quercus john-tuckeri - Hungry Valley, ble 1). In 2014 alone, 5,600 fires old ridge route” by Joe Decruyenaere burned over 600,000 acres across the state. One fire, the King Fire, burned almost 100,000 acres. The Canyon live oak Hybridized/ Shreve oak 2013 Rim Fire burned over 250,000 “Quercus chrysolepis acorns” Palmer’s oaks by Doug Beckers acres in the Central Sierra Nevada. Still fresh in our memories are the Cedar Fire and the Old Fire. The Coast live oak Interior live oak Valley oak Southern California fire storms “Quercus Agrifolia” by “Interior live oak twig with “Valley Oak Mount Diablo” by Peter O’Malley acorn” by Benny White Miguel Vieira of 2003, which were repeated two more times: first in October 2007, when 971,000 acres burned in a fire complex forcing the evacuation Shrub oaks: of one million people from their Figure 1. The Los Padres National Forest Indians fire of 2008 cleansed the understory. Oaks and other hardwoods survived (2009 photo). homes, and then again in 2008. Huckleberry oak Sadler oak This fourth year of drought prom- “Quercus vaccinifolia 1” by reau of Land Management, the U.S. ly-occurring fires extinguished to Stan Shebs ises more fire challenges. military, and state and local gov- save nearby homes in urbanized Most often these fires burn in wild ernment. The bioregional native areas, but prescribed burns to pre- lands, mostly public forests, wood- vegetation complex largely evolved vent accumulation of flammable Leather leaf oak Scrub oak with a history of periodic fire, but understory have been reduced over “Leaves of California Scrub lands, and chaparral that are owned Oak” by :en:Geographer or managed by public agencies such fires have been suppressed for the the years due to air quality, cost as the U.S. Forest Service, the Bu- past century. Not only are natural- and liability concerns. As a result, 4 1 in the same decade, 8.1% of canyon fires are forever transforming sig- live oaks on FIA plots died, and 81% nificant portions of California’s her- Table 1: of the mortality was caused by fire. itage wild land habitats. The wide- THREATS TO OAK In black oak stands there was 8.9% spread reintroduction of prescribed overall mortality in the period, and fire, management of mosaics of WOODLANDS of that 35% was due to fire. Like- landscape patches with reduced fuel wise 6.6% of interior live oak trees loads, enhanced preservation of im- found on FIA plots died from 2001- portant oak ecosystems, increased Climate change 2011 and 65% of that mortality was fire and fuels research funding, and and drought due to fire. Further oak mortality public education are all vital parts of occurred in recent fires of 2013 and the solution. California Oaks urges Urbanization and 2014. These rates of oak mortality all residents to join it in demanding lack of oak protection indicate disturbing vulnerability for that our public land and fire agencies several species. address these issues or we will lose Vineyard these important hallmarks of biodi- developments; California Oaks recognizes that Cal- versity. ifornia wild lands are imperiled by clearing for oth- threats of pests, drought, climate Please be fire safe. For more infor- er water intensive change, and sudden catastroph- mation, call the California Depart- cash crops ic fire. While low intensity fire is a ment of Forestry and Fire Protection: good thing in wildlands, there are (916) 323-7390, or, in an emergency, Obsolete forest clear indicators that current large call 911. practice rules Figure 2. The Rim Fire of 2013 left enormous high severity burn patches of thousands of acres. Most trees died, but black oaks are sprouting (2014 photo). Over-grazing and poor land there is an accumulation of vege- of unburned, light, moderate and or live oaks have historically lined management tative biomass predisposing previ- high burn severities. This diversity the steep canyons of Calfornia’s ously resilient landscapes to raging can be beneficial to the landscape. many scenic rivers, and as such are FIRE and damaging wildfire. Fires of the Late season fires tended to be more now very susceptible to fire. Oak past burned at a lower intensity and devastating. Homogeneous patches regeneration, normally present in Lack of oak served to keep biomass below dan- in the Rim Fire were 10,000-12,000 California’s highly vulnerable can- regeneration and gerous levels. acres in size. Post-fire succession in yons, can survive a lower tempera- poor acorn crops these wildlands must start over due ture fire, but not high fire severity. Fires are themselves diverse, but to a complete loss of vegetation. Scrub oaks, mostly in chaparral Oak browsing by as a general rule, the potential for types, generally sprout after fire herbivores, gophers a fire that is bigger, hotter, more Oaks have previously been thought even though the above-ground damaging, and uncontrollable in- to be relatively more adaptable to shrub is often burned away. and voles. creases each year as the seasons fire than conifers. Generally black Sudden Oak Death/ progress. Early summer fires such oaks, often mixed with coniferous Among U.S. Forest Service Forest as the Basins/Indians Fire in the forests, will sprout from the roots Inventory and Analysis (FIA) tree Goldspotted Oak Los Padres National Forest (June and sometimes from the stem fol- monitoring plots remeasured from Borer 2008) and the Flat Fire in the Shas- lowing severe fire. Valley and blue 2010-2012, there are 5,418 records ta-Trinity National Forest (July oaks, and most other oaks, will sur- of individual oak trees that had Invasive species 2012) produced patchy hetero- vive a light fire with low fuels but been alive when measured a decade geneous areas that are each a few will be killed by a hot and intense previously. Of those, 415 trees or Figure 3. The 2012 Flat Fire cleansed the canyon live oak understory but spared the acres in size, resulting in a variety fire. Canyon live oaks and interi- 7.7% of all oaks had died. With- trees (2015 photo). 2 3.
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