Managing Wildfire, Prescribed Fire, and Fuels

Empire Fire burning along the Glacier Point Road in 2017.

 

 

Fire Management

• Overview of Yosemite Fire Management
• Current Fire Information
• Fire Ecology and Monitoring
• Fire and Climate Change
• Fire History
• Smoke Management and Air Quality
• Fire and Cultural Resources
• Aviation Management

Yosemite's fire management program is designed to balance the protection of life, property, and natural and cultural resources with the continuation of fire as a natural process. Fire managers use three tools to mimic fire's natural function in the ecosystem: managing wildfire for resource and protection objectives, prescribed fire, and mechanical thinning and pile burning. While visiting Yosemite, you may see evidence of any of these practices.

Managing Wildfire

Managing Wildfire for Resource Benefits

Thunderstorms are common during summer and fall in the Sierra Nevada. Each year, many lightning strikes result in wildfires, some of which are managed for the benefit of natural and cultural resources. Ecological benefits include species diversity and landscape resiliancy. Visitors to Yosemite may see smoke or other evidence of these fires while they are in the park. 

 

Managing Fire for Protection Benefits

When wildfires threaten life or property they are suppressed.

Fire Management Units

The majority of Yosemite National Park is managed as wilderness, where natural fuel loads exist and past fire suppression efforts have had little impact. Natural wildfires may be permitted to burn in this region under specific conditions, while monitored by park staff. In making these decisions, managers consider fire behavior, fuel loads, weather conditions, air quality, and potential threats to people and property.

 

 

Prescribed Fire

Prescribed fires are used to mimic the natural presence of fire in an ecosystem. They are ignited under optimal conditions by qualified park staff, and they remove dead and overgrown vegetation that could contribute later to a more severe fire.

A Prescription for Fire

A fire’s prescription is the window within which a fire may be ignited. The timing and scheduling of these fires depends on a variety of factors, including fuel conditions, weather, air quality, and other events occurring in the park. The conditions are selected to maximize the ability to control the fire and minimize smoke in local communities. These fires are intentionally set to meet certain objectives and achieve specific goals, such as protecting a developed area from future fires, or burning a section of forest that has become overgrown.

Prescribed fire helps reduce heavy fuel loads while simultaneously opening the conifer forest structure and maintaining the health of meadow habitats. Fire is also used to enhance native plant communities, cultural landscapes, and improve wildlife habitat. Another goal is to provide defensible space for communities and developed areas within and surrounding the park. Since the 1970s, park managers have been using prescribed fire and managed lightning fire to help achieve these goals.

 

 

Mechanical Thinning and Pile Burning

Each year, Yosemite removed dead and down vegetation around park communities in an effort to reduce hazardous fuels. This creates what is known as "defensible space" around structures in the event of an unwanted fire, which can help firefighters defend these buildings and communities.

This process, known as mechanical thinning, is also used to reduce heavy accumulation of fuels in any forested area, which can help prevent larger fires by removing "ladder fuels" that carry fire from the forest floor into the canopy of mature, overstory trees.

 

 

Fire Management Videos

 

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  Blue Jay Fire (2020)

  The Blue Jay Fire started on July 24th, 2020 and burned into winter. It was a natural ignition lightning fire that the park managed for resource objectives under a confine and contain strategy. In this video, Battalion Chief Russell Mitchell, who was the Incident Command for a long duration of this fire, explains the importance of fire on the landscape in Yosemite Wilderness ecosystems and the meaning of a confine and contain strategy.

  Duration:

  2 minutes, 10 seconds

 

• 

  Prescribed Fire in Yosemite

  In 1970, the NPS began to intentionally return fires to Yosemite, recognizing the traditional use of fire on the landscape and its important ecological role. Since 1970, fire managers have used fire to restore thousands of acres of forest, and continue to plan for future prescribed fires throughout large portions of the park.

  Duration:

  2 minutes, 16 seconds

 

• 

  Yosemite's First Women's Fire Corps Crew

  Only a small fraction of career firefighters in the United States are women. The California Conservation Corps and the National Park Service are working together to change that with support from the National Park Foundation. In 2021, six California Conservation Corps members formed Yosemite’s first Women’s Fire Corps Crew. Crew members learned basic skills for firefighting and fire management, while connecting with mentors to prepare for future fire careers.

  Duration:

  3 minutes, 43 seconds

 

• 

  Last of the Monarchs: Giant Sequoias

  As part of ongoing efforts to protect forest health and reduce fire danger, the Mariposa County Resource Conservation District used grant funding from the Wildlife Conservation Board to produce a short introductory video about the threat to giant sequoias. Watch as our partners explain the risks and what we can do to protect the last of these monarchs.

  Duration:

  10 minutes, 34 seconds