Letting Lightning Fires Work: Yosemite's Red and Rodgers Fires, 2022

Helicopter 551 on the Red Fire. NPS.

Yosemite's fire policy, like national policy, recognizes that wildfire is part of the ecosystem. Managed well, it clears heavy dead fuel that could burn intensely, diversifies wildlife habitat, and thins forests so they better withstand drought, bark beetles and later fires.

Two lightning fires

Lightning started the Red Fire on August 4 and the Rodgers Fire on August 8, 2022, in Yosemite's remote wilderness. Given the steep, rugged terrain and the risk to firefighters, managers chose to confine and contain them using natural barriers — rock, trails and creeks.

Smoldering fuels on the Red Fire, August 2022. NPS.

Extreme drought is increasingly common in Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada as climate change and above-average temperatures dry out fuels.

A mosaic that protects

Decades of low-intensity fires have left a patchwork forest: fire creeps, backs downhill, or torches a single tree rather than racing through the canopy. The patchwork mixes tree ages and species, adds habitat, and lowers the risk of catastrophic wildfire.

Low-intensity burning on the Rodgers Fire, August 2022. NPS.

Rain finally put both out. Both burned at low to moderate intensity, extending the mosaic. The Red Fire reburned part of the 2001 Hoover Fire footprint, but much of the ground had little or no fire history. In the wilderness there were no structures, and few visitors were affected beyond some trail closures.

Learning from fire

Yosemite's fire effects crew monitors and studies how fire — or its absence — changes the forest, so fire management goals can be tested and adjusted for safety and success, making the park more fire-resilient.

Sources

Based on "Effective fire management reaps benefits in Yosemite National Park," National Park Service Fire and Aviation Management; a work of the United States government in the public domain.