7/12/07
June Fire
Each year, lightning strikes result in wildland fires that help shape the Mono Basin landscape. Just before noon on Tuesday July 10th, 2007, thunderstorms sparked a fire just north of the June Lake Junction and just west of Highway 395. After jumping the highway and burning about a square mile, rain put out the fire the following morning (with help from firefighters). Fire crews came from as far away as Mendocino and the Santa Monica Mountains.
Fire has been an essential part of the Mono Basin ecosystem for thousands of years. Humans constantly struggle with the best way to attempt to manage this often uncontrollable and dangerous natural force. In nearby Yosemite National Park, under natural conditions 2% of the park burned each year, and on any given summer day several small natural fires may be burning in the park. In the Mono Basin, fires are usually suppressed, however in recent years a prescribed burn program has been used to manage fuel buildup on the Inyo National Forest.
Looking south, June Mountain is on the
right, and the ridgetop in the center is on fire. The bright
lights are on Highway 395.
the burned area. Highway 395 was closed for almost 24 hours.
Greg Reis Photo 7/11/07
Red fire retardant was deposited on the
southbound highway lanes at the edge of the burned area.
A
2001 study in coastal California grassland found that ammonium phosphate
fire retardants fertilized the
soil and increased the growth of exotic annual grasses. This is of particular
concern in the disturbed
areas along the highway shoulder, which tend to be colonized by invasive
species.
in the median of the highway.
Most of the ridge in the background
burned in the understory, leaving the canopy of Jeffrey Pine
for the most part unburned.
In 1940 aerial photos, there are far fewer
trees on the ridge than today.
Changes in climate, grazing, species composition, and fire management since 1940 have resulted
in
many areas of the Mono
Basin having more trees than previously. This causes difficulties when the
land is managed to be
"natural" and historic conditions are used to define "natural". The
challenge for
land managers is to set
ecologically and culturally desirable goals for managed ecosystems that
are
sustainable on our
constantly changing planet.
1940 Black and White Left; 1999 Color
Infrared Right. Dotted lines show approximate area where the 2007 June
Fire crossed
Highway 395. The June Lake Junction is at the lower right corner of both
photos.
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