Effectiveness of thinning and prescribed fire in reducing wildfire severity

Abstract

The severity of recent fire seasons in the United States has provided dramatic evidence of the increasing complexity of wildfire problems. A wide variety of indicators suggest worsening dilemmas: extent of area burned, ecosystems at risk, funds expended, homes destroyed or evacuated, and human fatalities and injuries; all seem to be on the increase or have peaked in recent years. The National Fire Plan (and ongoing initiatives by the USDA Forest Service and Department of Interior) and President Bush’s Healthy Forest Initiative in response to the 2002 fire season have stimulated heightened interest in fuel treatments.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the Sierra Nevada Science Symposium

Citation

Omi, Philip N.; Martinson, Erik J. 2004. Effectiveness of thinning and prescribed fire in reducing wildfire severity. In: Murphy, Dennis D. and Stine, Peter A., editors. Proceedings of the Sierra Nevada Science Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-193. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: 87-92