Barry Point Fire

Barry Point Fire

Firefighters patrolling the fire line
Location Lake County, Oregon & Modoc County, California
Coordinates 42°06′40″N 120°48′06″W / 42.1111°N 120.8018°W / 42.1111; -120.8018Coordinates: 42°06′40″N 120°48′06″W / 42.1111°N 120.8018°W / 42.1111; -120.8018
Statistics
Cost $23.2 million
Date(s) August 5, 2012 (2012-08-05) – August 27, 2012 (2012-08-27)
Burned area 92,977 acres (376 km2)
Cause Lightning
Buildings
destroyed
3
Injuries 3
Map

Location of fire in Oregon

The Barry Point Fire was a wildfire that burned over 92,977 acres (376.26 km2) of Oregon and California forest land during the summer of 2012. The fire began on 5 August 2012, the result of a lightning strike. The fire consumed public forest and rangeland as well as private forest and grazing land located in Lake County, Oregon and Modoc County, California. The public lands effected by the fire are administered by the United States Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry. The largest part of the private land was owned by the Collins Timber Company. At the peak of the firefighting effort, there were 1,423 personnel working on the fire. It took 22 days to fully contain the fire and then an additional three weeks to mop it up.

Origin

On 5 August 2012, a thunderstorm passed over southern Oregon and northern California. The storm produced a number of lightning strikes in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. Unfortunately, the storm did not deliver any rain with the lightning. The next morning, a local lookout reported a fire in the Barry Point area, approximately 22 miles (35 km) west of Lakeview, Oregon. The Forest Service named it the Barry Point Fire.[1][2][3][4]

A combination of hot dry weather and gusty winds had created dangerous fire conditions in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. Around Barry Point, the fire conditions were exacerbated by heavy forest ground cover and the general inaccessibility of the area. By mid-morning these conditions had produced a high intensity fire with large trees torching off in rapid succession and numerous spot fires spreading the blaze rapidly. The prevailing winds initially drove the fire toward the northeast. However, the wind then shifted unexpectedly, pushing the fire southward. Firefighters battled the blaze for over three weeks as it consumed large tracts of public forest and rangeland along with private forest and ranch grazing lands.[1][4]

Chronology

Pumper engine on Barry Point Fire's front line
Firefighter working to protect structures on 16 August
BLM ground crew conducting mop up operations

Fire area

Barry Point Fire progress map

The Forest Service originally reported the final size of the fire to be 93,071 acres (376.64 km2).[21] That was later modified to 92,845 acres (375.73 km2). Most of the burned area was Federal land. However, forest lands belonging to the State of Oregon, and various private owners were also burned.[25] The burned acreage identified in the preliminary fire report was as follows:

After carefully mapping the burned area, the Forest Service changed the official total of acres burned to 92,977 acres (376.26 km2).[1][2] The fire covered about 30 miles (48 km) north to south and was 10 miles (16 km) wide in some places. Approximately 40,000 acres (160 km2) of commercial timber was consumed by the fire with a 75 percent tree mortality. An addition 35,000 acres (140 km2) of forest was seriously damaged.[26]

During the course of the Barry Point Fires, there were 3 structures destroyed and 3 firefighters injured. According to the Forest Service, the total cost of the fire suppression effort was over $23.2 million.[24][25]

Post-fire activity

Forest restoration began immediately after the fire was contained. The Fremont-Winema and Modoc national forests appointed a joint Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation Team to oversee forest restoration activities. Under the team’s supervision, Forest Service and Oregon Department of Forestry crews cleared roads, mended fences, repaired culverts, and rehabilitated bulldozer trails.[23][27][28]

Timber salvage operations began shortly after the fire suppression ended. The Forest Service worked with the Collins Timber Company and the Fremont sawmill in Lakeview to remove dead trees that were still marketable. However, the salvage process was not an easy one. In September 2012, the Fremont-Winema National Forest offered to sell 25 million board feet of salvage timber to Collins. This was because Collins operated the only sawmill in Lakeview, the nearest mill to the salvage area. However, Collins declined to buy the Forest Service timber, choosing instead to focus on salvaging its own burned timber first. Then in December 2012, the Forest Service offered its salvage timber in a sale open to all bidders, but there were no interested parties. This was due to concerns about the quality of the damaged timber and the distance it would have to be transported. Finally, the Forest Service broke the timber sale into smaller lots near existing roads. By then, Collins had removed much of its burned timber so they acquired some of the Forest Service salvage timber. Ultimately, the Forest Service only salvaged about 9 percent of the timber burned by the Barry Point Fire.[23][28][29][30]

After salvage logging and clearing burned areas, the Forest Service began replanting trees in the Barry Point burn. In 2014, the initial reforestation effort covered about 5,000 acres (20 km2) with ponderosa pine seedlings. An additional 3,668 acres (14.84 km2) was replanted in 2015.[31]

In 2015, Collins replanted over 20,000 acres (81 km2) of timberland as part of a joint forest restoration project with the Wildlife Conservation Board and the Pacific Forest Trust. The project included a $2.5 million grant for wildlife habitat restoration from the conservation groups. In exchange for the grant, Collins and another timber company agreed to offer a conservation easement across 32,686 acres (132.28 km2) of private land, including approximately 10,000 acres (40 km2) unburned forest and meadow lands in northern California. The conservation project will restore habitat for numerous resident and migratory species that are native to northeastern California. Species include mule deer, pronghorn, Rocky Mountain elk, American black bear, and cougar along with bird species such as black-backed woodpeckers, great grey owls, sandhill cranes, goshawks, and bald eagles. Native redband trout will also benefit from the restoration project.[32]

Images

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Barry Point Fire Review Fremont-Winema and Modoc National Forests, United States Department of Agriculture, United states Forest Service, Washington, District of Columbia, May 2013, pp. 7-9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Incident History", Barry Point Fire Retrospectives and Lessons Learned, United States Department of Agriculture, United states Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Fremont–Winema National Forest, Lakeview, Oregon, 3 May 2013, pp. 4-7.
  3. 1 2 "Executive Summary", Appendix F, Barry Point Fire Retrospectives and Lessons Learned, United States Department of Agriculture, United states Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon, 9 January 2013, p. iv.
  4. 1 2 3 "Incident Status Summary", Incident Command System, Incident Management Team, United States Forest Service, Fremont–Winema National Forest, Lakeview, Oregon, 7 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Barry Point Fire Final Progression Map", Barry Point Fire Review Fremont-Winema and Modoc National Forests, United States Department of Agriculture, United states Forest Service, Washington, District of Columbia, May 2013, p. 10.
  6. 1 2 "Type 3 Command – Days 2 – 3 (August 7th – 8th)", Appendix F, Barry Point Fire Retrospectives and Lessons Learned, United States Department of Agriculture, United states Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon, 9 January 2013, p. 11.
  7. "Daily Fire Update for Wednesday, August 8, 2012", Wildfire - Oregon Dept of Forestry, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, Oregon, 8 August 2012.
  8. "Daily Fire Update for Thursday, August 9, 2012", Wildfire - Oregon Dept of Forestry, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, Oregon, 9 August 2012.
  9. 1 2 " Type 2 Command – Days 4 – 7 (August 9th -12th)", Appendix F, Barry Point Fire Retrospectives and Lessons Learned, United States Department of Agriculture, United states Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon, 9 January 2013, p. 12.
  10. "Fire Update for Friday, August 10, 2012", Wildfire - Oregon Dept of Forestry, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, Oregon, 10 August 2012.
  11. "Fire Conditions and Fire Behavior", Appendix F, Barry Point Fire Retrospectives and Lessons Learned, United States Department of Agriculture, United states Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon, 9 January 2013, p. 5.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Total Incident Resources Assigned", Barry Point Fire Retrospectives and Lessons Learned, United States Department of Agriculture, United states Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Fremont–Winema National Forest, Lakeview, Oregon, 3 May 2013, p. 7.
  13. "Daily fire update - 08-14-12", Wildfire - Oregon Dept of Forestry, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, Oregon, 14 August 2012.
  14. "Incident Status Summary", Incident Command System, Incident Management Team, United States Forest Service, Fremont–Winema National Forest, Lakeview, Oregon, 14 August 2012.
  15. 1 2 "Type 1 Command – Days 10 – 19 (August 15th–24th"), Appendix F, Barry Point Fire Retrospectives and Lessons Learned, United States Department of Agriculture, United states Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon, 9 January 2013, p. 13.
  16. Terry, Lynne, "More fire evacuations ordered near Lakeview in the Barry Point fire", The Oregonian/OregonLive, Portland, Oregon, 16 August 2012.
  17. "Daily fire update - 08-17-12", Wildfire - Oregon Dept of Forestry, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, Oregon, 17 August 2012.
  18. "Incident Status Summary", Incident Command System, Incident Management Team, United States Forest Service, Fremont–Winema National Forest, Lakeview, Oregon, 20 August 2012.
  19. "Incident Status Summary", Incident Command System, Incident Management Team, United States Forest Service, Fremont–Winema National Forest, Lakeview, Oregon, 24 August 2012.
  20. "Incident Status Summary", Incident Command System, Incident Management Team, United States Forest Service, Fremont–Winema National Forest, Lakeview, Oregon, 25 August 2012.
  21. 1 2 "Thursday, August 23, 2012 - Fires on Other Lands in Oregon", Wildfire - Oregon Dept of Forestry, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, Oregon, 23 August 2012.
  22. "Barry Point fire now fully contained", Wildfire - Oregon Dept of Forestry, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, Oregon, 28 August 2012.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Barry Point fire - afternoon update", Wildfire - Oregon Dept of Forestry, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, Oregon, 29 August 2012.
  24. 1 2 "Incident Status Summary", Incident Command System, Incident Management Team, United States Forest Service, Fremont–Winema National Forest, Lakeview, Oregon, 17 September 2012.
  25. 1 2 3 Barry Point Fire Fuels Effectiveness Review, United States Forest Service, Fremont‐Winema and Modoc National Forests, Lakeview, Oregon, 4 February 2013.
  26. Whitsett, Doug, "Barry Point wildfire highlights shortfalls of forest management", The Oregonian/OregonLive, Portland, Oregon, 27 October 2012.
  27. " Post-Fire Activities (August 27th–Present)", Appendix F, Barry Point Fire Retrospectives and Lessons Learned, United States Department of Agriculture, United states Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon, 9 January 2013, p. 14.
  28. 1 2 "Forest Service continues Barry Point fire salvage", Lake County Examiner, Lakeview, Oregon, 30 January 2013.
  29. Juillerat, Lee, "Collins Sawmill readying for Fremont-Winema fire salvage logs", Herald and News, Klamath Falls, Oregon, 4 September 2013.
  30. Juillerat, Lee, "Forest Service Scales Back Burned Timber Sale", Herald and News, Klamath Falls, Oregon, 11 February 2014.
  31. Replanting begins at Barry Point, Lake County Examiner, Lakeview, Oregon, 8 April 2015.
  32. Juillerat, Lee, "Partnership to restore Barry Point Fire habitat", Herald and News, Klamath Falls, Oregon, 8 February 2015.
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