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Linville Gorge Prescribed Fire Briefing Paper

June 2012

Overview

The Linville Gorge Wilderness area, located on the Grandfather Ranger District of the Pisgah

National Forest, is an ecosystem where fire is a natural part of the environment. In pre-settlement

times, natural fires shaped the species that now occupy the area. Excluding fire from the area

would lead to a build-up to brush that would put the area at risk for wildfires that could

significantly damage the ecosystem and adjacent private lands.

Restoring fire to the Gorge would help restore fire to the fire-adapted ecosystem and benefit

native plants and animals. Prescribed fire would also reduce dense understory vegetation and

better protect surrounding communities by reducing the risks of catastrophic wildfire. The

Linville Gorge Wilderness Prescribed Fire project would help reduce the potential for

uncontrolled, human-caused wildfires that have scorched close to 20,000 acres in recent years.

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Recent Wildfire History in the Gorge Year Fire Name Cause Acres Burned

2000 Brushy Ridge Fire Abandon campfire 10,000

2007 Pinnacle Fire Human caused 3,500

2007 Shortoff Fire Lightning caused 3,200 Extremely dry weather conditions

2008 Sunrise Fire House Fire 3,200

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The scoping letter for the Linville Gorge Wilderness Prescribed Fire project, dated May 18,

2012, is the first stage for the public to comment on the proposed project. The letter identifies a

potential burn area of 11,786 acres inside the wilderness and 4,800 acres outside of the

wilderness. The agency proposes to burn a total of 16,586 acres. The burns would occur in four

or more separate areas for ease of implementation. Implementation of these burns would be

spread out and completed at different times.

Public feedback will be used to help develop alternatives that will be analyzed in the

environmental assessment and considered by the decision maker. Implementation of the

prescribed burns could be a couple years away.

Protecting Residents and Addressing Their Concerns

The Linville Gorge project would occur near private land, and some local residents have

expressed concern about the proposal. Among these areas is the community of Gingercake

Acres, which has been identified as a “community at risk” of wildfire because it is situated in the

Wildland-Urban Interface. The N.C. Forest Service has developed a Community Wildfire

Protection Plan for Gingercake Acres. Any treatments, such as the proposed Gorge project,

implemented adjacent to the community would lessen the impacts of a wildfire and the potential

for a catastrophic wildfire.

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U.S. Forest Service personnel will work with the N.C. Forest Service and local organizations to

plan the prescribed fire and coordinate contingency efforts.

In addition, U.S. Forest Service personnel will protect private land and property by creating fire

lines and implementing other measures. This will greatly reduce the chances of a prescribed burn

from spreading to private land. Steps will also be taken to reduce smoke emissions. The Forest

Service will only implement a prescribed burn if the conditions are appropriate.

U.S. Forest Service employees understand the concerns and questions that local residents may

have about the proposed project. The agency will provide area residents and local leaders with

additional information about the project, its benefits and the safety measures that will be taken to

help ensure their safety and to protect their property. On June 6, 2012, Forest Service employees

will meet with the homeowners of Gingercake Acres to discuss their concerns with the proposal.

Prescribed Fire vs. Wildfires

Prescribed fires (also known as controlled burns) are different from wildfires. Prescribed burns

are implemented under a set of conditions, or prescription, that dictate the temperature, relative

humidity, wind speed, fuel condition and other parameters under which the burn can be

conducted. Under these conditions, underbrush is burned. Most larger trees are not harmed and

even benefit from this activity. To ensure the safety of firefighters and adjacent lands, the Forest

Service prepares a burn plan that has to be approved by the supervisor prior to conducting the

burn.

Wildfires, on the other hand, are fought under a wide variety of weather conditions that may

include dry and windy weather. Strategies and tactics for suppression are developed based on

those conditions. Controlled burns help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires on the land and

surrounding communities.

To understand what would likely occur if the Forest Service implemented a controlled burn in

the Gorge, one can look at the results from two controlled burns in the Dobson Knob area,

implemented in April 2011 and January 2012. These two burns occurred in the dormant season

in years of relatively normal precipitation. Fire lines used to contain the burn consisted primarily

of existing roads and streams.

Enclosed is a brochure produced by The Nature Conservancy, titled “Bringing Fire Back to the

Mountains,” which identifies the need to implement prescribed burns in the mountains of North

Carolina. Linville Gorge is featured in the brochure.

For more information

Contact: District Ranger John Crockett at 828-652-2144.

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This picture, taken on 6/14/12, shows the fire effects of the Dobson Knob controlled burn implemented in

January of 2012. It illustrates the consumption of leaf litter that prescribed burns provide, reducing the

changes of catastrophic wildfire.

This picture, taken on 6/14/12, shows the fire effects of the Dobson Knob controlled burn implemented in

January of 2012. Note that the fire did not consume large logs.

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This picture, taken on 6/14/12, shows the fire effects of the Dobson Knob controlled burn implemented in

the April of 2011. Notice the leaf litter is back after one growing season.

This picture, taken by Jonathan Cox, was included in the comments from residents in Gingercake Acres.

It looks to be taken from Back Creek Road looking up toward Shortoff. It shows the fire effects from the

Shortoff wildfire, which occurred under adverse weather conditions.