Crystal Peak bounces back from fire
by Paul Janney, Outpost contributor
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Foresters work to stave off fire |
What followed the extinguishing of the flames was a rehabilitation effort that could last hundreds of years. Just as the Forest Service was immersing itself in the Crystal Peak rehabilitation work, another major fire hit the are: in the summer of 1996, the Belli Ranch area, just south of Crystal Peak near the Mount Rose Wilderness, also was hit by a major fire.
Opinions differ on how to bring back the green following a fire, but for Karen Jones, a U.S. Forest Service fire rehabilitation expert the plan used for Crystal Peak is a step in the right direction.
``Phase One was very successful, but phase two is going a little slower than expected,''Jones said.
Rehabilitation efforts have been an ongoing process, even before the fire unleashed its heated fury on the forest floor of Crystal Peak in Aug.,1994. Roughly 7,300 acres on the Nevada-California border were blackened.
Helping make the process easier now are some of the initial steps that occurred even before the fire was extinguished.
A three-phase process was put into action by crews from the Tahoe and Toiyabe National Forest Service immediately following the dowsing of the flames. This included suppression rehabilitation, emergency rehab and also public comment.
``The first phase was very successful and our structures held up,'' Jones said.
The structures she referred to are called straw wasttles. Plastic wasttles appear in shape to be like big sausages stuffed with straw. The wasttles are then stacked horizontally on hillsides. Their purpose is to provide soil anchoring. Filling was added to streams to prevent erosion. Hundreds of rock dams were also erected to maintain the soil and hillside stability.
``It was very labor-intensive,'' said Ann Westling, public information officer for Tahoe National Forest. ``It was like rock gangs instead of chain gangs.''
Replanting work has proceeded slowly. Initially, the work was expected to be completed in 1996, but according to Jones, replanting of trees and other vegetation has carried through 1997 and probably into 1998 because of a lack of helicopters and other essential equpment.
``The process is still ongoing,'' Jones said.
Helicopters are needed for replanting because they remove burned timber from the forest floor. Without removal, the wood literally just sits there and rots, according to Jones.
An additional objective in the rehabilitation is work in the Sunrise Basin, were homes were damaged by the Crystal Peak blaze. Two homes in the area have already been rebuilt.
A concern from the beginning of the rehab process was the lack of rain in the area. Drought was a primary concern. A wet winter in 1996-97 has helped alleviate some drought concerns, although fire officials warn that fuel in the Tahoe and Toiyabe National Forests in the form of dry trees and brush remains plentiful.
Jones said pine seedlings planted in the year following the Crystal Peak fire are showing positive signs.
``Two-year-old pine seedlings are already growing,'' Jones said. ``We have also seen a large population of woodpeckers in the area.''
Preventing a future fire is also part of the rehab process. Limiting fuel to future fires is part of the Forest Service's long-term strategy.
``Long-term, we have reduced fuels in the area,''Jones said. ``We can also do a better job in managing the vegetation so there are not a lot of dead trees. That way we hopefull won't have a large catastrophic event again.''
For everyone involved, the rehab process has been a learning process.
``We've gained a lot of information when it comes to the future,'' Jones said, adding that the logging management process has been especially educational. ``We are learning that maybe clearing up all the wood is not a good idea,'' Jones said.
In the town of Verdi, located near the base of Crystal Peak, the public's concerns were incorporated into the Tahoe and Toiyabe National Forest's environmental assessment.
``Folks were concerned about how badly the trees were burned, and soils were also a major concern,''Westling said. ``Watershed needs and a whole host of needs came up.''
In particular, a primary area of concern was the downstream effect on the Truckee River, which supplies water to Reno and Verdi. The Forest Service is still in the process of studying the impact the fire and subsuquent soil runoff has had on the resource, Westling said.
Posted Dec. 16, 1997
Copyright 1997 Nevada Outpost
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