National Park Service Plans Prescribed Burn in Stehekin - North Cascades National Park Media Release

Date: September 19, 2011
Contact: Tonya Neider, 509-633-9441 x.124
Contact: Dee Townsend, 509-996-5008

The North Cascades National Park fire management team is preparing for a potential prescribed burn in the Stehekin Valley. The exact timing will be determined by environmental conditions, such as weather and fuel moisture. Visitors and residents should expect to see smoke. After ignition is complete, burn crews will begin mopping up to minimize smoke impacts, especially if the burn occurs before or during the first full week of October when businesses offer special visitor packages in conjunction with fall colors and the Harvest Festival.

Minimizing the amount of fuel in strategic areas protects public and private lands from the adverse effects of wildfires. "Prescribed fire is a vital part of the park's fire management strategy," says North Cascades National Park Fire Management Officer Dee Townsend. "This strategy proved effective during the 2010 Rainbow Bridge Fire, which did not impact personal safety or property as a direct result of past treatments such as manual thinning and prescribed burning."

This prescribed burn will occur within the Boulder Forest Fuels Reduction Area located just east of the Stehekin Valley Road between two and three miles up the valley. An approximately 40-acre portion between the Rainbow Loop Trail and Boulder Creek will be treated. Access to the lower portion of the Rainbow Loop Trail may be limited or restricted during brief periods of active burning but closures are not expected.

Prescribed burns are the careful application of fire under specific parameters and within defined boundaries set forth in a plan. They are conducted only when precise environmental conditions, or burn prescriptions, are met. Fuel moisture, temperature and wind direction must meet predefined prescriptions before fire managers will commence burning.

These treatments reduce the build-up of fuels, such as sticks, needles and other plant matter, and are intended to protect communities from wildfire. Prescribed burns also enhance habitat for fire-dependent plants and animals and help increase ecosystem diversity by stimulating new vegetation growth.

Visit www.stehekin.com for trip planning resources, including lodging options, ferry and floatplane schedules, and descriptions of the broad-range of activities available in Stehekin.