Colville National Forest Centennial
June 2007

100 Years of Fire Management On the Colville National Forest

Fire has shaped western forests and landscapes for thousands of years. The trees, shrubs, and grasses, as well as the wildlife found in the Colville National Forest, have in some way adapted to periodic fires. There are many issues that surround the management of national forests locally and across the country. Yet arguably, the most compelling issues are wildland fire management practices and policies, and how they are applied, implemented, and accepted by the public.

Early foresters who were assigned to inventory timber resources throughout the West made note of the extensive damage that wildfires had brought to most western forests. John Leiberg wrote in his 1897-98 review of the area around the Pend Oreille Valley, "One meets with burnt areas everywhere ã in the old growth, in the second growth, in the young growth and where the seedlings that are beginning to cover the deforested areasäThe burnt tracts are in large blocks, thousands of acres in extent, and small patches of 15 to 50 acres which extend in all directions through the forest; sometimes they are in broad swaths, sometimes in narrow, tortuous windings. The burnt areas are scattered all over the reserve" (Excerpt from United States Geological Survey, 1897-98, by John B. Leiberg). Leiberg's assertion would ultimately be that timber resources were being wasted by wildfires and that though fires dated back hundreds of years, an increase of fires in the lower elevations could be attributed to increased populations and accidental fires, but also from those citizens that showed "disapproval of Government interference in their rights to cut, slash, or burn as convenience or fancy might dictate."

In these terms all fires were viewed as destructive and unwanted. It is not difficult to understand that most early foresters were convinced that putting all fires out ã full fire suppression ã was the only reasonable answer to the unnecessary destruction of the valuable timber resources.

Foresters associated with the Forest Service and other agencies that actively fight wildland fire have long discussed their careers in terms benchmarked by busy fireseasons or significant wildfires. This practice for most purposes began in the western United States associated with The Great Fires of 1910. Though people mainly relate to that fire event with Idaho and Montana, 160,000 acres burned on the Colville National Forest in 1910. The events of 1910 motivated the Forest Service to attempt to eliminate fire from the forest, since referred to as the "fire exclusion policy." Though many important aspects of fire suppression lagged behind the policy, including funding, infrastructure and technology, the public's acceptance of the need and the Forest Service fire management mission were defined.

There were a number of years with large fires besides 1910 that occurred in the early portion of the last century on the Colville National Forest. In 1917 over 23,000 acres burned on the Forest. Between 1920 and 1934 over half of the 1.1 million acres of the Colville National Forest were burned. On August 4, 1929, a berry picker's campfire spread into trees near Dollar Mountain southwest of Kettle Falls. Rangers had the fire under control by August 6th, and went on to other fires. The small crew left behind watched helplessly as high winds carried the blaze through the Forest at a rate of five to six miles per hour. One man was killed in the conflagration, and many others escaped injury by walking across miles of burned forests. The Dollar Mountain Fire consumed 144,000 acres, and to date is the largest single fire event recorded on the Forest (Forgotten Corner, C.E. Holstine).

Beginning in 1935, manpower, equipment, and technology were brought together in a campaign against fire under the Forest Service's 10 A.M. Policy. This policy declared that every fire was to be controlled by 10 A.M. the day after being reported. As it was throughout the West, fire suppression during this era and into the 1980's could only be viewed as successful. Many factors contributed to this achievement. Some were very evident and symbolic, such as the use of aircraft for fire suppression. In addition, large fixed-wing aircraft were used to drop retardant and deliver smokejumpers. Helicopters were employed to transport firefighters, drop water, and deliver equipment and supplies directly to the fireline. There may be other factors at play besides the full onslaught of suppressing small fires, yet the policy of suppressing all fires when small was not only successful operationally, but ultimately cost effective.

In 1988 the White Mountain Fire burned 22,000 acres in the Kettle Range. It was the largest fire that has occurred on the Colville National Forest since the 10 A.M. Policy was instituted. The burned area is dissected by State Highway 20 and gives the public a slice of fire ecology that is not usually afforded the causal viewer. As each year passes, nature has moved forward in the process of reforesting that landscape, which in a slower, more patient perspective, is as impressive as the original fire event.

Other fires occurring in recent times include the Mount Leona Fire in 2001, which burned 6,000 acres northeast of Republic, and the Togo Fire, which burned 5,100 acres along the Canadian-US border in 2003. These two fires are good examples of modern firefighting techniques. Large fire camps with a wide array of support personnel and functions are assigned to manage incidents, which is what large fires are now called. As one would expect, it is very expensive to fight fires in such a manner, with 500-1000 plus firefighters assigned to these incidents. Yet there are expectations that have been created to protect private property from wildfire, and to protect all resources at risk from catastrophic fires.

One would be remiss if a discussion of fire management history did not include prescribed fire. Prescribed fire, which may be more fondly called controlled burning by some, has been around for a long time. Native Americans throughout the West used fire for various purposes, but these usually related to improving wildlife habitat or food sources. To guess what degree this practice occurred locally would be speculation, but it is reasonable to expect that Native Americans used a tool that they were familiar with and knew would shape the landscape. Modern prescribed burning has evolved from the primary function of removing logging debris, both for the reduction of fire hazard and to provide for better tree planting. Though this practice still is used on some projects for those purposes, a prescribed fire may have the objective of improving wildlife habitat or as tool for managing vegetation. Prescribed fire has constraints associated with its application. These constraints are tied closely to meeting objectives. The associated parameters are based on fuels (live and dead vegetation), weather, and topographic features.

Prescribed fire is at times controversial. It creates smoke emissions and has some element of risk of the fire escaping to adjacent lands. Prescribed fire is truly a tool and without it there are limits to what other vegetative treatments can accomplish. What we do know is that complete fire exclusion is not the long-term solution to managing forests. The appropriate response to wildland fire certainly can be debated and second guessed.

Decisions made and actions taken have impacts that are played out socially and ecologically long after the last embers have been extinguished. Recent emphasis in policy has been focused on reducing fuels and reintroducing fire, with the goal of protecting communities and maintaining healthy ecosystems. Whether ignited by nature or forest managers, fire will continue to shape of the landscape of the Colville National Forest.

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