Review of fuel treatment effectiveness in forests and rangelands and a case study from the 2007 megafires in central Idaho, USA

Hudak, A.T.; Rickert, I.; Morgan, P.; Strand, E.; Lewis, S.A.; Robichaud, P.R.; Hoffman, C.; Holden, Z.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: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 60 p.

Keywords: fire severity, fuel treatment, National Fire Plan, post-fire effects, wildland-urban interface (WUI)

Links: PDF [2.4 MB]

Abstract: 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.

Moscow FSL publication no. 2011a