Forest Service Chief Applauds USDA Secretary's Push To Build And Maintain Roads For Wildfire Response.
Could the Yellow Lake Fire burn-over have been prevented by better Forest road maintenance?
Like most things of this nature, the order to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule does not come without controversy. Some believe this is a great proposition, and others feel it will lead to unfavorable outcomes.
This take is about maintaining existing roads, not advocating for the construction of new roads through the forests. I want to approach this solely on the topic of wildfire response, much like the Chief of the Forest Service did yesterday afternoon. I am more than willing to hear other arguments for or against this order; however, I will present a wildland firefighter’s perspective on unmaintained forest roads.
But first, the USDA says that, “Rescinding this rule will remove prohibitions on road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvest on nearly 59 million acres of the National Forest System, allowing for fire prevention and responsible timber production. This rule is overly restrictive and poses real harm to millions of acres of our national forests. In total, 30% of National Forest System lands are impacted by this rule.”
That’s the down and dirty of it. Chief Schultz of the Forest Service responded to this order with the following:
For nearly 25 years, this rule has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to action – prohibiting road construction, which has limited wildfire suppression and timber harvesting on nearly 60 million acres. Including Wilderness designations, the acreage amounts to nearly half of our national forests and grasslands.
Since 2001, we’ve seen more than 8 million acres of Roadless Areas burn. To put that into perspective, the average acreage lost to wildfire each year has more than doubled since the rule’s inception. Instead of protecting our forests, the rule has trapped them in a cycle of neglect and devastation.
That can’t continue.
The forests we know today are not the same as the forests of 2001. They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, insect-born disease, and wildfire. It’s time to turn the page on the Roadless Rule and return land management decisions where they belong – with local Forest Service experts who best understand their forests and communities.
I applaud Secretary Rollins for taking decisive action to provide us with the tools and decision space we need to truly care for our forests and, in turn, protect the people and communities we serve.
Chief Schultz
Strictly on the side of wildfire response, I think an important thing to remember when this topic comes up is what it’s like to show up to a wildfire in a National Forest. One of the first things a supervisor asks is, “How’s access?”
Oftentimes, you get a response that “there’s an old road that’s not maintained" somewhere up there, but you have to go scout it out. It’s likely an old logging road or forest road that has been neglected for decades. It’s on a map, but the condition is unknown.
“Send it.”
A common operation in these types of situations is to send multiple saw teams ahead of the crews to clear the road as much as possible. There is usually a conversation about whether it will take longer to clear the road or just hike up. Are there benefits of having trucks close and having a faster egress?
The other option is to “chance it", which often leads to broken side mirrors and windows on buggies, or a total dead end halfway up the mountain. Sometimes it’s only a hundred yards that need to be cleared, and the road is then totally usable. Sometimes it’s completely unpassable from the start.
I have personally had to back down a mountain in reverse after getting “rocked out” or find the road is sluffed off the side of the mountain. You then report back to the IC or Division, saying, “That road would have been perfect.”
“Yeah, they stopped maintaining that years ago.”
In more extreme conditions, you can end up with what happened on the Yellow Lake Fire in Utah last year:
“The crew superintendent decided to try to make access to the fire’s edge, to park in the black, and scout the top above Crew 3. However, the road instantly got tight and the Crew Superintendent decided to back out. At 1050, while backing out, the front tire slid off the road, causing the truck to become stuck. Trying to get the vehicle unstuck—was only making it worse. The Superintendent called the crew for help.
At 1200, the winds increased. Fire activity started to push uphill. At roughly 1300, the winds changed direction from south to southeast (18-25 mph upslope winds) and started pushing the fire toward the Superintendent’s location. The Superintendent called the crew, asked to be picked up on the ridge road, and started walking toward a location called “Little Pond” which provided an open area.
While walking out the ridge road to the safer location, the Superintendent is cut off from the vehicle due to increasing fire activity from a bowl, located just west of the truck. Around 1345, after safely arriving at a lookout point west of the vehicle, the Superintendent briefs both Branch and Division on the situation and the vehicle’s location. It was decided to assess the vehicle after the fire moderates later that evening.
By 1830, the fire behavior moderates and the vehicle is reached and assessed. The truck has burned and is considered a total loss.
Lessons Learned Center
Yes, this is a Monday morning quarterback situation where one can make assumptions that if the roads had been maintained, this would not have happened. The truth is that countless other situations ended up being very close calls that don’t get reported.
For the sole purpose of wildfire response, maintaining old forest roads is undoubtedly beneficial, and a safety argument can easily be made. I think that’s critical to highlight.
I do not believe that building highways through our forests, or punching in roads on every ridgeline, is a good idea. However, maintaining existing roads can significantly enhance safety and access for wildland firefighters.
I live in reality and realize this order goes beyond that, but as someone who has dealt with issues on these old and impassible forest roads, I see the value for wildland firefighters in keeping them maintained.
As for the other negatives and positives of this order, what are everyone’s thoughts on how this order will affect to 30% of National Forests it incorporates?
THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.
As a heavy equipment operator, the chance to reopen these closed off and forgotten access roads in the forest excites me. As an outdoorsman and a conservationist, I hope access will be restricted to the public by foot traffic and bikes only, and emergency services use as well. As a realist, unfortunately I see politicians using this as a potential land grab once the forests do all the work. I hope I’m wrong on that account.
With access roads everywhere the public will start more fires way out there....