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Reading Fire
The 2012 Reading Fire was a large wildfire in Lassen Volcanic National Park and the Lassen National Forest in Northern California. Ignited by a lightning strike on July 23, the fire was managed for ecological benefits by park officials until shifts in the weather caused the fire to jump its intended control lines. The Reading Fire ultimately burned 28,079 acres (11,363 hectares), partially outside the park, before it was fully contained on August 22, 2012. The fire destroyed no buildings and caused no fatalities or even serious injuries. The fire's unintended escape led members of the public and several California politicians to criticize park officials for allowing the fire to go unsuppressed after its discovery.
Burn scars in tree rings suggest that wildfires historically burned in the area that is now Lassen Volcanic National Park with a return interval of between five and 15 years, and with mixed severities. This baseline changed dramatically beginning in 1905, when fire suppression efforts began in earnest. The new fire regime lasted until park policy changed in the 1980s, and Lassen Volcanic National Park began managing lightning-ignited fires for their ecological benefits within the Lassen Volcanic Wilderness. Wildfires in the park have a "strong tendency" to burn from southwest to northeast.
A scant winter snowpack leading up to the 2012 fire season in Northern California drove the moisture levels in all dead fuels (including large fuels that take longer to dry out, such as dead fallen trees and brush piles) to record low levels. The low fuel moistures contributed to 'spotting' fire behavior on the Reading Fire, where wind-blown firebrands or embers start new fires where they land.
On July 23, 2012, thunderstorms developed over Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lightning struck a single red fir tree on a north-facing slope, at about 7,100 ft (2,200 metres) in elevation, at approximately 5:09 p.m. PDT. This ignition point was located in a designated wilderness area, approximately one mile (1.6 kilometres) northeast of Paradise Meadows and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of Lassen Peak, south of the Lassen National Park Highway. The fire was named for nearby Reading Peak.
A National Park Service fire management officer and a member of the Forest Service hiked in to the fire, directed by a reconnaissance aircraft. At that point, late in the day, the fire had hardly expanded beyond the lone red fir tree and its behavior was subdued—a later report described the fire at this point as three feet (0.91 m) by five feet (1.5 m) and "smoldering". After evaluating local topographical features and other conditions (such as a dearth of dense vegetation, a cooler northern slope, ridges and roads at which to limit fire spread, etc.), the personnel at the scene concluded the area might be conducive to a managed wildfire and deferred a decision on whether to extinguish the fire or not to the following day.
On July 24, park personnel conversed among themselves and with experts (including the National Park Service’s regional fire ecologist) before receiving permission from the Lassen Volcanic National Park superintendent to manage the fire. The initial goal was to confine the fire to an area of just 700 acres (280 hectares), bounded by two drainages and by Lassen National Park Highway to the north. The Reading Fire was initially managed by a Type 4 incident management team and approximately 16 firefighters. By July 30, one week after igniting, the fire had grown to three acres (1.2 hectares). During that week the fire behaved as predicted, slowly spreading downhill while only consuming surface fuels/vegetation.
As the calendar turned to August, the fire began to expand at a greater pace. By the 3rd of the month, it had burned 50 acres (20 ha), and by the following day, 94 acres (38 ha). On August 6, as management of the fire was being handed over to a Type 3 incident management team, the Reading Fire spotted (jumped, via windblown embers) across the park highway where personnel had intended to hold the fire. The fire took root in the Hat Creek drainage and continued to expand, reaching 1,010 acres (410 ha) by the end of the day.
On August 7, continued southerly winds pushed the fire north and out of the park itself, and the Reading Fire established itself on Badger Mountain in the Lassen National Forest. Air tankers attacked the resulting spot fires. Fire growth continued to accelerate: on the 8th the fire had burned 2,000 acres (810 ha), by the 10th more than 9,000 acres (3,600 ha), and by August 12, the fire had burned more than 15,000 acres (6,100 ha). On August 13, a Type 1 incident management team took control of the suppression effort and began to perform firing operations to contain the fire indirectly. Meanwhile, a spot fire was detected just four miles (6.4 km) south of Old Station.
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Reading Fire
The 2012 Reading Fire was a large wildfire in Lassen Volcanic National Park and the Lassen National Forest in Northern California. Ignited by a lightning strike on July 23, the fire was managed for ecological benefits by park officials until shifts in the weather caused the fire to jump its intended control lines. The Reading Fire ultimately burned 28,079 acres (11,363 hectares), partially outside the park, before it was fully contained on August 22, 2012. The fire destroyed no buildings and caused no fatalities or even serious injuries. The fire's unintended escape led members of the public and several California politicians to criticize park officials for allowing the fire to go unsuppressed after its discovery.
Burn scars in tree rings suggest that wildfires historically burned in the area that is now Lassen Volcanic National Park with a return interval of between five and 15 years, and with mixed severities. This baseline changed dramatically beginning in 1905, when fire suppression efforts began in earnest. The new fire regime lasted until park policy changed in the 1980s, and Lassen Volcanic National Park began managing lightning-ignited fires for their ecological benefits within the Lassen Volcanic Wilderness. Wildfires in the park have a "strong tendency" to burn from southwest to northeast.
A scant winter snowpack leading up to the 2012 fire season in Northern California drove the moisture levels in all dead fuels (including large fuels that take longer to dry out, such as dead fallen trees and brush piles) to record low levels. The low fuel moistures contributed to 'spotting' fire behavior on the Reading Fire, where wind-blown firebrands or embers start new fires where they land.
On July 23, 2012, thunderstorms developed over Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lightning struck a single red fir tree on a north-facing slope, at about 7,100 ft (2,200 metres) in elevation, at approximately 5:09 p.m. PDT. This ignition point was located in a designated wilderness area, approximately one mile (1.6 kilometres) northeast of Paradise Meadows and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of Lassen Peak, south of the Lassen National Park Highway. The fire was named for nearby Reading Peak.
A National Park Service fire management officer and a member of the Forest Service hiked in to the fire, directed by a reconnaissance aircraft. At that point, late in the day, the fire had hardly expanded beyond the lone red fir tree and its behavior was subdued—a later report described the fire at this point as three feet (0.91 m) by five feet (1.5 m) and "smoldering". After evaluating local topographical features and other conditions (such as a dearth of dense vegetation, a cooler northern slope, ridges and roads at which to limit fire spread, etc.), the personnel at the scene concluded the area might be conducive to a managed wildfire and deferred a decision on whether to extinguish the fire or not to the following day.
On July 24, park personnel conversed among themselves and with experts (including the National Park Service’s regional fire ecologist) before receiving permission from the Lassen Volcanic National Park superintendent to manage the fire. The initial goal was to confine the fire to an area of just 700 acres (280 hectares), bounded by two drainages and by Lassen National Park Highway to the north. The Reading Fire was initially managed by a Type 4 incident management team and approximately 16 firefighters. By July 30, one week after igniting, the fire had grown to three acres (1.2 hectares). During that week the fire behaved as predicted, slowly spreading downhill while only consuming surface fuels/vegetation.
As the calendar turned to August, the fire began to expand at a greater pace. By the 3rd of the month, it had burned 50 acres (20 ha), and by the following day, 94 acres (38 ha). On August 6, as management of the fire was being handed over to a Type 3 incident management team, the Reading Fire spotted (jumped, via windblown embers) across the park highway where personnel had intended to hold the fire. The fire took root in the Hat Creek drainage and continued to expand, reaching 1,010 acres (410 ha) by the end of the day.
On August 7, continued southerly winds pushed the fire north and out of the park itself, and the Reading Fire established itself on Badger Mountain in the Lassen National Forest. Air tankers attacked the resulting spot fires. Fire growth continued to accelerate: on the 8th the fire had burned 2,000 acres (810 ha), by the 10th more than 9,000 acres (3,600 ha), and by August 12, the fire had burned more than 15,000 acres (6,100 ha). On August 13, a Type 1 incident management team took control of the suppression effort and began to perform firing operations to contain the fire indirectly. Meanwhile, a spot fire was detected just four miles (6.4 km) south of Old Station.
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