GREENHORN SUMMIT, Calif. (KERO) — A year ago, the French Fire ravaged California's eastern mountain communities, burning over 26,000 acres. Most of the debris fell within the Sequoia National Forest and after 12 months, work to recover those forest lands is ongoing.
After a fire, the first priority is to stabilize the damage. Following that starts the long-term rehabilitation and abatement of the soil amidst thousands of scorched trees.
"When fire moves through the area, that creates a different kind of ecosystem that’s fire-dependent," said Al Watson, District Ranger with the United States Forest Service. "Maybe the immediate concerns about fire getting out of the perimeter is abated, but there’s also the impacts of having fire on the landscape."
The French Fire left a graveyard of burned trees in its path and thousands of potential hazards that could fall at any moment. Over the last year, the focus has been on immediate danger and recovery of surrounding communities but now the focus has shifted to recovering the landscape that once held pine, cedar, and oak trees first harvested in the late 1800s.
"You’re looking at multiple years of recovery, and they have to do it very carefully so they don’t cause more problems trying to fix it," said Chuck MaGee of Kern County Public Works. "They have to immediately start looking at how are we going to get this revegetated, what steps are we going to take, and that’s why you don’t see them rushing in and clear-cutting everything."
One year later, forest officials are discussing how the flames may have benefited them in the long run. While the French Fire left a number of hazards, it also helped in thinning out parts of the forest.
“Whether it’s fallers who go in there and fall the trees, which can be hazardous because after they’ve burned, they’re not as stable, and then operate machinery to get it off the landscape," said Watson.
All those burned trees that are too close to the roadways will have to be cut down. Large diameter trees will be decked, where they could remain for up to a year as forest officials decide how to dispose of them.
“Burnt trees can start coming out, those will either get either ground up and used as cover material for the soils out there," said MaGee. "There are companies that go through and use them for biomass fuel and generate power out of them.”
But for burned trees located further from roadways, they’re not considered hazardous and won’t be immediately cut down. So it could be another 10 to 50 years before they decay.
By looking at the French Fire’s footprint, the Forest Service can strategize removal in a way that will actually help fire crews respond to wildfires in the future. According to the burned area report, vegetation recovery will last around three to five years while recovery of the overstory, the highest regions of the forests, will last approximately 20 years.
