HFQLG
Project Evaluation Form
Project Name: The Rich Fire and the Effectiveness of the Kingsbury-Rush DFPZ Project
Project Type: Kingsbury-Rush Defensible Fuel Profile Zone (DFPZ) implemented biomass removal, chainsaw
thinning with follow-up pile burning, underburning and mastication service contracts.
Forest: Plumas Ranger District: Mt Hough Field Trip Date: June 1, 2009
Attendance: 16 people
Agency- Dan Martynn, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Public – Sharon Taschenberg, Rich Gulch landowner; Bill Davies, local landowner; Jim Moffat, Canyon Dam land
owner; George Terhune, Quincy Library Group; Mike Yost, Quincy Library Group; Frank Stewart, Quincy Library
Group and Counties Forester.
USFS- Mike Donald, District Ranger; Rich Bednarski, Ecosystem Manager; Ryan Bauer, District Fuels Officer;
Dave Wood, HFQLG Team Leader; Colin Dillingham, HFQLG Monitoring Team Leader; John Yembu, HFQLG
GIS Volunteer; Alex Yiu, Assistant District Silviculturist; Joe Smailes, Supervisory Forester; Jose Reynoso, Fuels
Technician.
Type of treatment and acres:
The Kingsbury-Rush Defensible Fuel Profile Zone treated a total of 3838 acres including: 1736 acres of chainsaw
thin and burn piles; 1657 acres of biomass removal; 317 acres of mastication and 128 acres of underburn only.
DFPZ construction involved follow-up treatments to an area that had previously been commercially thinned to
approximately 30-40% canopy cover in the late 1990’s. Kingsbury-Rush DFPZ activities thinned the remaining
stand from below by retaining the largest trees. The smaller material (limbs, tops, small diameter understory
trees) was removed as biomass wood product (chips). Wood chips were delivered to cogeneration plant to create
electricity.
Discussions:
Frank Stewart suggested that the Forest Service put together a compilation of all the HFQLG treatments that
have been impacted by fires. All of the treatments would tell a compelling story that the treatments are working
to help fight fires.
There were questions about salvaging the fire-killed timber. The district indicated that they were planning on
salvaging 3.5 million board feet of the approximately 70 million board feet killed in the fire. They planned to
harvest in the flattest terrain to prevent impacts to soils and to provide for a viable timber sale. Much of the
steeper ground would require helicopter harvest methods and the timber is not high enough quality to justify a
helicopter sale.
Successes and Shortcomings:
A safe and effective Defensible Fuel Profile Zone was constructed with this project. The fuel break slowed the fire
so much that fire fighters were able to concentrate efforts on higher priority areas closer to communities and
deferred treatment at the head of the fire until structure protection activities were complete.
Consider treating both sides of the roads when possible to allow fire fighters a safe escape route in the event of a
flare-up. Treating only one side of the road limits the usefulness of a DFPZ. The Kingsbury Rush DFPZ treated
both sides of the roads in some areas, but only one side of the road in others. There were some issues with ability
to treat steeper slopes.
Resource
Area
Silviculture
Attribute
Stand Health
Objective
Increase vigor of
residual stand
Source of
Objective
EA
Objectives
Met?
Yes
Fuels
DFPZ
Create a safe and
effective DFPZ
HFQLG
Appendix J
Fuels
Rate of
Spread
Reduce rate of fire
spread to aid fire
suppression
HFQLG
Appendix J
Fuels
Mastication
Rearrange fuels to
reduce fuel ladder
HFQLG
Appendix J
Wildlife
Spotted Owl
Prevent loss of
Spotted Owl
Activity Centers
EA
Hydrology
Sediment
Delivery
Do not exceed
threshold of
concern
Plumas Land
and Resource
Management
Plan (LRMP)
Fire caused
watershed
to exceed
threshold
of concern
Soils
Soil
displacement
Prevent excessive
soil displacement
Plumas LRMP
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Comments
Reduced competition in
residual stand helps tree
vigor and ability to fight
off insects and disease
and survive wildfire
events.
Project very effective,
caused crown fire to
drop to ground and
prevented fire from
expanding to Lake
Almanor and
community of Seneca
Surface fire two orders
of magnitude slower
than crown fire running
into DFPZ.
Mastication reduced
flame length and caused
crown fire to drop to
ground.
Although Rich Gulch
PAC was lost before fire
hit DFPZ, the PAC to
NW was saved.
Number of acres burned
in a small watershed
pushed the affected
watersheds over
threshold of concern.
Mastication and other
heavy equipment was
excluded from slopes
greater than 35%
Follow up actions:
Connect DFPZ to other areas. Work with Fire Safe Council to develop community protection maps for this and
other areas. Link Keddie project to East of Kingsbury-Rush. Add units along 26N22 to link Belden Project with
Kingsbury Rush DFPZ.
Notes prepared by: /s/ Colin Dillingham
Monitoring Team Leader, HFQLG Implementation Team
District Ranger: _/s/ Michael Donald__________
Mt Hough District Ranger
Date: 12 June 2009
Date: 1 June 2009
Appendix 1. Rich Fire Fuel Treatment Effectiveness Report handed out during project field trip. This appendix
includes photographs of DFPZ treatment.
January 2009
Rich Wildfire
Fuel Treatment Effectiveness
Location Information
Region: 05
Forest: Plumas
District: Mount Hough
Wildfire Information (consistent with 5100-29)
Fire Number: CA-PNF-000784
Fire Name: Rich Fire
Date of fire start mm/dd/yr: 07/29/2008
Final fire size (ac): 6,112
Date when fire entered treatment (if different from start date): 07/30/2008
Treated Area Burned: 342 Acres
Date Fire Contained: 08/09/2008
Fuel Treatment Information:
Kingsbury-Rush DFPZ (Defense Fuel Profile Zone) was approved in June 2001 under the
HFQLG Framework as amended by the January 2001 ROD.
There were 5 prescriptions in the DFPZ boundary, all were service contracts. No
timber sales were used to implement this project.
Kingsbury Rush DFPZ Treatment Prescriptions and Acres
Total
Size
Hand thin, burn
piles and
underburn
3838 acres
1736 acres
Machine
harvest and
underburn
1657 acres
Mechanical
thin,
masticate,
no
underburn
272 acres
Mechanical
thin, masticate,
and underburn
Underburn
only
45 acres
128 acres
Additional Information
Narrative:
The Rich fire was a human caused fire that started at the bottom of the Feather River Canyon about 1500
on July 29, 2008. The fire was first managed by the local initial attack resources, next by the Type II
Incident Management Team (IMT) working other fires in the area, and finally by a Type I IMT ordered by
the Plumas National Forest.
Outside the fuel treatment area the fire intensity was moderate with high scorch heights and significant
tree mortality. Inside the treatment area, the fire intensity was low with low scorch heights and low tree
mortality. The fire inside this treated area burned with a low spread rate due to a lack of ladder and
ground fuel which had been removed by the earlier fuel treatments. One of the Division Supervisors from
the Type 1 IMT reported that the fire column was reduced significantly and the spread rates slowed down
when the fire hit the ridge (fuelbreak).
This person noted that any and all direct suppression efforts became successful in the area of the
fuelbreak. Before the fire hit this area, only indirect methods at the head of the fire were successful.
The fuelbreak slowed the fire so much that incident resources were able to concentrate the suppression
effort on higher priority areas closer to communities and deferred suppression efforts at the head of the
fire and the fuelbreak.
The ridge top fuel break, where the Rich Fire entered the Kingsbury-Rush DFPZ, had been commercially
thinned, grapple piled, and burned in the late 1990s prior to Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group
(HFQLG) legislation. At that time the thinning resulted in canopy closure of approximately 30%. The
area was further treated as a HFQLG DFPZ with mastication, hand piling and burning completed with
HFQLG funding in 2003 - 2005. The combination of treatments aided in the suppression effort and
certainly allowed for the lessened tree mortality. There are continuing debates as to the appropriate
canopy reduction to reduce fire behavior; however the 30% canopy cover in this study was shown to have
a successful effect in decreasing the fire behavior.
The Kingsbury-Rush DFPZ was used to help contain the Rich Fire. Three hundred forty two acres of the
DFPZ burned in the Rich Fire. Overall, the intensity of the fire was lower in the DFPZ and preliminary
reconnaissance indicates greater tree survival in the treated versus untreated area.
Because of the fire’s proximity to communities, the fire was given a high priority for allocation of
suppression resources. This aided in the positive fire suppression outcome. In addition, the ridge top
location of the fuel break and gentler terrain beyond also aided in this outcome. However, a fire that
was expected to burn long into the summer, costing additional money, tying up valuable fire fighting
resources and damaging natural resources in an area that had already seen tremendous fire activity,
quickly ran out of steam when it hit the DFPZ. Incident resources were able to suppress the fire before it
could get into other valuable communities and watersheds.
Conditions when fire entered treatment
Date: July 30 @ 1500 – Quincy/ RAWS
ERC (value and percentile): ERC 82
87th Percentile
Windspeed and direction: SE 4-6 MPH
Temperature: 89
RH: 15
Fuel Moistures
1 hr: 3
10 hr: 5
100 hr: 9
1000 hr: 10
Live Fuel Moisture: 100
Report Completed By:
John Holcomb
email: jfholcomb@comcast.net
Phone: 503-667-7960
Photo History
Photos 1 (untreated) and 2 (treated): Treated Kingsbury-Rush DFPZ and untreated landscape near the
Rich Fire. Note the large amount of aerial fuels in the untreated stand.
Photo 3: High severity fire effects in the Rich Fire, down slope from the Kingsbury-Rush DFPZ.
Photo 4: Aerial view of Kingsbury-Rush DFPZ after fire passage.
Photos 5 and 6: Note the high severity in the untreated foreground and low severity in the treated
ridgeline.
Photo 7: Active fire in DFPZ.
Note the low flame lengths.
Photo 8: Wildfire backing through DFPZ
Photo 9: Smoldering fire with minimal severity fire effects in DFPZ.
Photo 10: After fire passage, note the mosaic underburn of the Kingsbury Rush DFPZ.
Photo 11: Area in the Kingsbury-Rush DFPZ where the Rich Fire burned
to a road and held.
Figure 1: Map - Rich Fire Perimeter
HFQLG Treatments, Accomplished and Proposed