In a state as vast as California, there’s no single recipe for land management to reduce the risk of wildfires burning into neighborhoods. In Northern California, vegetation management in many cases involves thinning forests to reduce fuel loads and create fire breaks. In Southern California, the focus is often on managing brush around urban areas, which can be challenging due to dense vegetation and limited access.
As fires tore through neighborhoods in Los Angeles last month, we took a deep dive into land management throughout the state. Here’s the full discussion, recorded January 14, 2025.
Episode Outline
Fuels Management Overview and Introduction
- Zeke Lunder introduces the topic of fuels management and mentions the absence of new significant fires in SoCal.
- Zeke plans to discuss fuels management to set the stage for a future conversation about urban interface fires.
- He humorously mentions his extensive collection of photos of brush, trees, and grass, indicating his deep involvement in the field.
- Zeke explains the politicized nature of forest and vegetation management, highlighting the polarized opinions on logging and vegetation management.
Defining Fuels and Fuel Models
- Zeke defines fuels as anything that can burn in a forest, including grasses, twigs, logs, dead and live trees, and urban materials like houses and sheds.
- He explains the concept of a fuel model, which is a comprehensive analysis of all potential fuels in a specific area.
- The goal of the discussion is to create a common language around vegetation management and debunk misconceptions.
- Zeke emphasizes the importance of understanding fuels to predict fire behavior and manage vegetation effectively.
Timber Management and Fire Adapted Forests
- Zeke discusses timber management, focusing on mature forests and the impact of fire suppression on vegetation.
- He describes a relic of fire suppression in Forest Ranch, where dense brush has grown due to lack of fires.
- Zeke explains the benefits of thinning and burning brush to reduce fuel loading and make forests more resilient to fires.
- He highlights the strategic importance of managing fuel loads around communities to prevent fire spread.
Industrial Timber Management and Fire Suppression
- Zeke talks about the Park Fire and Sierra Pacific Industries’ strategic thinning in commercial timberlands.
- He explains how thinning along road systems created tactical opportunities for fire suppression during the Park Fire.
- The fire’s behavior was influenced by the weather and the presence of fuel breaks, which helped slow the fire’s spread.
- Zeke emphasizes the importance of industrial timber management in reducing wildfire risk in high-risk areas.
Challenges in Vegetation Management
- Zeke discusses the challenges of managing vegetation in Northern California, including the lack of markets for small logs and the high costs of thinning.
- He explains the constraints faced by the Forest Service, such as environmental policies and lawsuits that limit thinning activities.
- Zeke highlights the difficulty of prescribed burning due to the narrow window of opportunity and the unpredictability of fire behavior.
- He mentions the economic challenges of thinning and the limited number of sawmills in Northern California.
Brush Management and Fire Adapted Species
- Zeke explains the challenges of managing brush, which is difficult to burn due to its high live fuel moisture.
- He describes the seasonal dormancy of brush and the narrow window for effective prescribed burning.
- Zeke discusses the rapid growth of brush after fires and the challenges of managing it in high-risk areas.
- He highlights the importance of understanding the specific characteristics of different vegetation types to develop effective management strategies.
Urban Interface and Vegetation Management
- Zeke transitions to discussing vegetation management in Southern California, focusing on the urban interface.
- He explains the complexities of managing vegetation around communities, including the challenges of fuel breaks and the impact of Santa Ana winds.
- Zeke emphasizes the importance of managing vegetation around homes and the difficulties of doing so in older, densely developed areas.
- He discusses the potential for integrating parks and other green spaces into margin buffers to create fire-resistant landscapes.
Practical Solutions and Future Planning
- Zeke suggests practical solutions for managing vegetation in Southern California, including tactical thinning around roads and homes.
- He highlights the importance of designing new subdivisions with fire in mind to facilitate effective vegetation management.
- Zeke discusses the challenges of managing vegetation in existing communities and the need for a vision for the future.
- He emphasizes the importance of creating urban footprints that are insurable and defensible against wildfires.
Mastication and Long-Term Management
- Zeke explains the process of mastication, which involves using a giant brush mower to reduce fuel loads.
- He discusses the challenges of maintaining masticated areas, including the rapid regrowth of sprouting species.
- Zeke highlights the importance of following up mastication with herbicide treatment or grazing to prevent regrowth.
- He emphasizes the need for long-term management plans to maintain fire-resistant landscapes.
Grazing and Fire Adapted Species
- Zeke discusses the benefits of grazing, including the control of grasses and low brush.
- He explains how grazing can create more fire-resistant landscapes by reducing fuel loads and promoting the growth of fire-adapted species.
- Zeke highlights the importance of regular grazing to maintain fire-resistant conditions.
- He emphasizes the role of goats in managing vegetation and the benefits of using them for weed control and fuel reduction.
Conclusion and Future Topics
- Zeke concludes the discussion by summarizing the complexities of vegetation management and the importance of a tactical approach.
- He mentions the upcoming conversation with Michael Steinberg about urban interface fires and the challenges of managing vegetation in Southern California.
- Zeke encourages viewers to stay tuned for more discussions on fuels management and related topics.
- He reiterates the importance of understanding fuels and developing effective management strategies to reduce wildfire risk.