Fire exclusion over time (IMAGE)

University of Washington

Fire exclusion over time

Caption

Forest change caused by fire suppression in Lassen Volcanic National Park in northeastern California, shown during four different years: 1923, 1993, 2010 and 2013. The forest burned severely in the 2012 Reading Fire. Historically, these forests burned about every 10 years at low to moderate severity until fire suppression was implemented in 1905. High surface fuel loads and development of a dense forest understory due to fire exclusion created conditions for the high severity Reading Fire in 2012.

Credit

A.H. Taylor and A.E. Weislander

Usage Restrictions

No restrictions.

License

Public Domain

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