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Author(s):
Andrew T. Hudak, Ian Rickert, Penelope Morgan, Eva K. Strand, Sarah A. Lewis, Peter R. Robichaud, Chad M. Hoffman, Zachary A. Holden
Year Published:

Cataloging Information

Hot Topic(s):
Fuel Treatment Effectiveness
Topic(s):
Fire Behavior
Extreme Fire Behavior
Case Studies
Fuels
Fuel Treatments & Effects
Mechanical treatments
Prescribed Fire-use treatments
Ecosystem(s):
Subalpine wet spruce-fir forest, Subalpine dry spruce-fir forest, Riparian woodland/shrubland

NRFSN number: 11449
FRAMES RCS number: 10045
Record updated:

This report provides managers with the current state of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of fuel treatments for mitigating severe wildfire effects. A literature review examines the effectiveness of fuel treatments that had been previously applied and were subsequently burned through by wildfire in forests and rangelands. A case study focuses on WUI fuel treatments that were burned in the 2007 East Zone and Cascade megafires in central Idaho. Both the literature review and case study results support a manager consensus that forest thinning followed by some form of slash removal is most effective for reducing subsequent wildfire severity.

Citation

Hudak, Andrew T.; Rickert, Ian; Morgan, Penelope; Strand, Eva; Lewis, Sarah A.; Robichaud, Peter R.; Hoffman, Chad; Holden, Zachary A. 2011. Review of fuel treatment effectiveness in forests and rangelands and a case study from the 2007 megafires in central, Idaho, USA. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-252. Fort Collins, CO: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 60 p.