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Rehab begins in wake of Inyo Complex Fire |
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Wednesday, 15 August 2007 |
 The Inyo Complex Fire charred hundreds of thousands of acres of land inInyo County and destroyed the Independence water plant and the Oak Creek Campground. The U.S. Forest Service is now beginning a rehabilitation effort of the damaged land. Photo by Keith Rainville By Mike Gervais
Register Staff 8-14-2007
Officials with the U.S. Forest Service are on their way to restoring more than 35,000 acres of land charred by the Inyo Complex Fire.
Though the Oak Creek Campground west of Independence has been deemed a total loss, Forest Service officials have focused their sights to local trails, roads and waterways that can be restored.
An Interagency Burned Area Emergency Response, or BAER Team, made up of the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Natural Resource Conservation Service, recently completed the Burned-Area Report for the 35,151-acre Inyo Complex Fire.
That report outlined actions the interagency team can take to repair damages sustained by the local environment due to the fire.
“Efforts are currently under way to implement the actions identified in the report,” states a press release from the Forest Service.
The Inyo Complex Fire included the Sage and Seven Oaks fires, which were ignited by lightning on July 6 and burned west and north of Independence and west of Big Pine in Big Pine Canyon.
State and federal sources have allocated $85,000 for the rehabilitation of the burned areas charred by the Inyo Complex.
Those efforts will include stabilizing roads and trails and reducing the risk of erosion to downstream road and channel crossings by helping regrowth in the burned areas.
Vegetation is now scarce in the areas north and west of Independence and west of Big Pine. The lack of natural greenery can cause a dangerous condition on public lands when streams and other waterways begin eroding their banks.
The burned-up shrubs also pose a risk to hikers and other recreators. “The public is urged to use caution when hiking or driving through any of the burned-over areas, especially if thunderstorms bring rain that could dislodge rocks and debris that are currently in an unstable condition” because they are missing the shrubs and roots that would normally keep them in place, states the press release.
The BAER team is also looking out for the environment and local wildlife in the wake of the Inyo Complex, and is planning to reduce the “risk of degradation to ecosystem function” and help recover soil productivity by using natural fertilizers to help bring back the vegetation, and hopefully some of the wildlife.
The team has also outlined a plan to provide for “rapid watershed recovery” in the areas burned by the blaze.
One of the priority projects identified by the team is the reclamation of the Oak Creek Campground facilities that were ravaged by the blaze.
“At this time it has been determined that the Oak Creek Campground facilities are beyond repair,” according to the press release. Before the Inyo Complex tore through the area nearly two months ago, “the water system did not meet state standards and had already been shut down,” states the press release.
Now that the restroom buildings, picnic tables, signs and barriers at the campground have also burned, what is left will be removed from the site and the campground will remain closed.
“Rehabilitation efforts are under way, but the Oak Creek watershed was burned extensively and will take years to recover,” according to the press release.
Some other areas that were burned during the Inyo Complex Fire include the Baxter Pass trailhead and Rex Montis Mine.
According to the Forest Service, the Baxter Pass trailhead will have new wilderness trailhead signs installed by next season.
Also, the portions of the Rex Montis Mine which were burned over will be removed, “including equipment and materials.”
Residents and visitors are being asked to play their part in the rehabilitation process as well.
“The BAER team has expressed concerns regarding off-highway vehicle activity in the burned over areas,” the press release states. The team plans to place advisory signs in strategic locations identifying the rehab work that is being done, and asking the public’s cooperation in not traveling off-road in the burned areas.
To ensure public cooperation, “additional patrols will be used to deter the potential for off-road use.”
At the fire’s peak, more than 1,100 firefighters battled the blaze as it closed U.S. 395 and forced the evacuation of Fort Independence and community of Independence. Eight helicopters and nine air tankers also took to the air to fight the fires.
The three fires were started by lightning on Friday, July 6 and eventually burned more than 35,000 acres from Independence to Big Pine. In addition, up to six homes and 29 outbuildings were destroyed by the fire. Two cars at a wilderness trailhead were also burned.
The Independence water plant was also destroyed, prompting a boil water order for the community.
Ten firefighters suffered minor injuries. The most severe injuries were suffered by a team of firefighters from the California Department of Forestry who had to deploy their emergency fire shelters when the flames overran their location, west of the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery, north of Independence. Their fire engine also burned in the incident, which is under investigation.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 10 September 2007 )
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