Garfield Peak from Skel Point, Crater Lake. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.
In recent weeks, misinformed Douglas County, Oregon politicians have expressed opposition to the 500,000 acre Crater Lake Wilderness proposal based on the misguided belief that wilderness designation poses a wildfire threat. They argue that “active management,” meaning logging, can preclude or prevent such blazes. But this demonstrates a fundamental failure to understand fire ecology.
Just as it may seem intuitive to assert the sun circles the earth because it rises in the east and sets the west, it may seem intuitive that logging would reduce fires. But just as science shows us that the earth circles the sun, despite the daily rhythm of sunrise and sunset, logging has been shown to increase wildfire risk.
A recent study by Oregon State Forestry School found that the most severe wildfires are located on private forestlands where “active management” is most prevalent. Another study of 1,500 wildfires across the West found that fire severity was lowest in protected landscapes like a wilderness area, while lands, where active management (read: logging) occurred, had the highest severity blazes.
While this may seem counterintuitive, the reason has to do with the factors that drive wildfires.
First, most wildfires are human ignitions. There is a strong correlation with access to logging roads and the number of fire starts. Wilderness, because it prohibits roads, has far fewer actual fire ignitions.
Second, the driving force in wildfires is drought, low humidity, high temperatures, and high winds. In particular, all large fires are driven by high winds. With these “extreme fire weather” conditions, wildfires pass through and around any “fuel breaks.”
But even more importantly, logging and thinning by opening up the forest to greater warmth, drying, and wind penetration enhances wildfire spread.
But that is only part of the issue. Logging is not benign.
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