Murphy Complex Fire Report

Agencies Should Study Grazing as Firefighting Tool According to New Report

By Jake Putnam

Boise--Cattle grazing on the Jarbidge range in South Central Idaho helped keep fuel levels down but the Murphy Complex fire of 2007 would have destroyed everything in its path under current management practices. That’s the word according to a new report just released from the Bureau of Land Management and an assessment team of stakeholders and government agencies.

The firestorm’s extreme temperatures, fuel load and wind led to unstoppable conditions. But the report clearly found that targeted grazing could result in "less intense" conditions, according to the report and should be used as another fire management tool.

On July 16 and 17th last year a series lightning strikes touched off range fires near the Idaho-Nevada border southwest of Twin Falls, Idaho. The fires exploded with alarming intensity and grew into the Murphy Complex Fire. The massive fire burned unchecked for two weeks before it was fully contained. Despite a concentrated fight by BLM fire crews more than a half million acres  went up in smoke.

Vast stretches of range, including stands of sagebrush exploded in flames, Some flame lengths on the range reached two stories high with intense heat in the stands of sage. Firefighting in the sage areas was extremely dangerous.

“I realize that crown fires occur in sagebrush stands just like they do in timber stands especially under extreme conditions.  Simple logic and peer reviewed science tells us that when more fuel is present fires burn more intense.  The report recognizes that as sagebrush canopy decreases fire intensity decreases parallel to the supply of fine fuels,” said Wally Butler, Rangeland Specialist for the Idaho Farm Bureau.

The BLM stressed that the range policy won’t change overnight, they’re simply looking at controlling fuel load and grazing is just another tool to achieve that. The agency is charged with protecting habitat and insiders say it's unlikely to change.

“Proper grazing use coupled with areas of targeted grazing to manage fuel loads can serve to protect key areas of wildlife habitat.  Grazing can provide the mosaic of habitats and manage fuel loads to minimize the impact of wildfire.  No one has ever said that grazing will stop naturally occurring fire but can certainly make those fires more manageable,” added Butler.

BLM will use the study as a starting point for more research; the agencies will start gathering every scrap of data from the fire to use on new grazing models. When that’s done they’ll use that data to construct a pilot project to test the grazing impacts and other fuel load measures before implementing a plan.

MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS:

The report recommends that a team of specialists and scientists create one or more carefully planned, targeted, and intensively monitored pilot projects large enough to evaluate management opportunities and ecological implications.

 A general technical guide should be developed based on existing research and field examples of how livestock grazing influenced fire extent, severity, and intensity. The report would be a platform for creating the pilot projects and other targeted grazing opportunities, considering possible changes to existing grazing plans, and evaluating the effects of grazing on recent and future wildfires.

The Assessment Team recommends continued research and monitoring of the ecosystem effects of the Murphy Complex wildfires to gain additional insight for future management decisions in this ecosystem.