Take Action Now. The Corral Fire was started by lightning on August 10 in the Trinity Alps Wilderness and has reached over 4,000 acres. The fire is currently less than a mile away from the Hoopa Reservation. The Six Rivers National Forest Supervisor in conjunction with the Hoopa Tribe have been granted permission from the Regional Forest Service Office to use bulldozers and heavy equipment within the wilderness to clear ridgetops and trails to create “fuelbreaks” or “firelines” in hopes of stopping the fire before it reaches the reservation.
Ridgetop fuelbreaks are often unsuccessful at stopping fires depending on weather and topography. According to the Inciweb website there are currently seven bulldozers working around the fire area. Up to 5 miles may be cleared, using a variety of treatments in different areas. For instance, some of the firelines are on old decommissioned roads that are currently on the trail system. Other firelines are just outside of the wilderness boundary on the Six Rivers National Forest.
While protecting life and homes is always a priority, there has got to be a better way. Dozerlines in the wilderness will scar the landscape for decades, increasing habitat fragmentation, damaging soils and seriously spoiling wilderness characteristics. Fire ignited by lightening in our forest ecosystems is as natural as life itself and post-fire landscapes are among the most rare and biologically rich landscapes existing.
Please click here to urge Regional Forester Moore to apply Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics (MIST) or call him at 707-562-9000. Let him know you will be watching closely at what is happening in the Trinity Alps and that you greatly value landscapes affected by fire. Voice your support for allowing fire to play its role, especially in the wilderness which is supposed to be safeguarded and untrammeled by mankind.
