Long-Term Effects of the 1992 Rainbow Fire at Devils Postpile Naional Monument [Extended Abstract]
Caprio AC, Keifer M, Webster K. 2007. Long-Term Effects of the 1992 Rainbow Fire at Devils Postpile Naional Monument [Extended Abstract]. Devils Postpile National Monument, CA
In August 1992 the Rainbow Fire burned much of Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO). Following many decades of fire exclusion the burn resulted in large high severity patches with complete tree mortality hundreds of hectares in size. Management questions, such as whether the effects of the fire were within the natural range of variability and whether or how fire should be reintroduced, have been raised. However, little or no information exists for the area on pre- EuroAmerican settlement fire regimes or on postfire vegetation responses to such severe burns. Using fire effects plots established postfire and tree regeneration plots, we examined fuel and forest conditions and regeneration patterns at sites burned with varying severity. Additionally, fire history sampling provided information on past fire return intervals and insights on past fire severity.