August 27, 2024 — In the summer of 2023, East Texas experienced historic wildfire activity, due to drought conditions and record-breaking high temperatures. Fire management professionals on the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas responded to 58 wildfires in a two-month period.
Two wilderness areas on the Angelina Sabine Ranger District, the Upland Island Wilderness and Indian Mounds Wilderness areas, were threatened by wildfires. The outcomes in these two areas were not the same — and is likely prescribed fire made the difference.
“Planned and controlled fires are essential in reducing hazardous fuels, protecting life, property and watersheds from extreme wildfires and smoke,” Shardul Raval, Southern Region Fire and Aviation Management director said.
Three wildfires occurred within the Upland Island Wilderness burning 46 acres. This area has been treated with prescribed fire five times in the past 10 years, so the wildfires burned at lower intensity which allowed for quick containment of the wildfires.
Nearly 60 miles east, a lightning ignition within the Indian Mounds Wilderness sparked the ‘Hogpen Fire’, which threatened multiple residences and grew beyond local management capacity. It took 14 days to successfully contain this fire, by then, more than 1,200 acres had burned. The Indian Mounds Wilderness was last treated with prescribed fire in 1983.
Smoke from the Hogpen Fire in the Indian Mounds Wilderness on the Sabine National Forest in Texas billows above the treetops. (USDA Forest Service photo by Mandy Chumley)
“Due to the fuel load, access and complexity of the Hogpen Fire in the Indian Mounds Wilderness area, we needed to bring in additional resources and a Type 3 incident management team to coordinate suppression efforts,” Joey Silva, district fire management officer for the Angelina Sabine Ranger District said. “The three wildfires in the Upland Island Wilderness were lower intensity due to the prior prescribed burn treatments and these fires were suppressed without the need for additional resources.”
Different types of forest ecosystems can also play a large part in the effects of fire.
“The Upland Island Wilderness area consists primarily of longleaf pine ecosystems,” Silva said. “If prescribed burns had not been implemented in the past, the wildfires in that area would have been very active and potentially landscape changing.”
Prescribed fire plays an essential role in the health of forest ecosystems by introducing fire under specific conditions: the right fire, at the right place, at the right time. Historically, forest ecosystems have been shaped by both naturally occurring fires and the introduction of carefully planned prescribed fire.
Wilderness areas are managed differently than other forests. Many wilderness areas are congressionally mandated to be free from intentional actions of human control or manipulation and left to the forces of nature.
All prescribed fires are thoroughly planned in advance by a team of specialists who analyze the impacts on wildlife, plants, watersheds and more. In wilderness areas there are additional considerations unique to those areas, including the impact on wilderness characteristics.
In non-wilderness areas, a prescribed burn for up to 4000 acres can typically be achieved with approximately 15-20 firefighters and the use of mechanical equipment. Protections for wilderness areas do not allow the use of mechanical equipment, which doubles the number of firefighters needed on site during a prescribed burn.
Smoke from the Hogpen Fire in the Indian Mounds Wilderness is spotted during aerial reconnaissance. The Hogpen Fire started on July 24, 2023, as a result of a lightning ignition in the Indian Mounds Wilderness on the Sabine National Forest in Texas. (USDA Forest Service photo by Mandy Chumley)
Prescribed fire is used frequently in Southeastern states. It mitigates wildfire and is effective in improving habitat, promoting the growth of native trees, wildflowers and other plants.
Southern forests are fire dependent. Many of the trees that dominate the forests in the Southern Region depend on fire to thrive. Each year, the Southern Region’s fire management professionals conduct prescribed burns on more than 1 million acres per year, accounting for nearly half of the total annual acres burned within the USDA Forest Service across the entire country.
Mandy Chumley, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas
Danielle Knight, Southern Region
