22 Oct 2008, 8:58pm
Uncategorized
by admin

Boise NF and Payette NF Post-2007 Fire(s) Photos

Click on an image to enlarge it.

Photo taken July 21, 2023 from our back yard in Yellow Pine looking East at Golden Gate Hill. This fire eventually became part of the Cascade Complex. (photo by YPmule)

Same mountain — photo taken Aug 17, 2007. Fire season is not even close to being over yet. (photo by YPmule)

August 25, 2023 — Point Protection — the sign reads ‘Yellow Pine Forest Camp’ (photo by YPmule)

‘Point Protection’ in action. Boise NF. (photo by YPmule)

When the inversion lifts - the fire takes off. August 27, 2023 - looking NW from a block east of our place. This is the Zena Creek Fire (part of the East Zone Complex) on the Payette NF. Actually it is a backburn set at the confluence of the East Fork of the South Fork and the South Fork of the Salmon River. The backfire was set on a red flag wind day, jumped the river and traveled 15 miles towards Yellow Pine (this is the part of the fire that caused the mud flows on the East Fork of the South Fork River in 2008.) (photo by YPmule)

A 2005 fire in Loosum Creek less than a mile from Yellow Pine. This fire was fought aggressively, contained, and controlled. Remember the shape of this ‘knob’ off the end of the ridge — behind the knob is Loosum Creek — this side of the knob is Yellow Pine and the confluence of Johnson Creek and the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River. It will be in the following 2007 fire photos… (photo by YPmule)

Sept 3rd 2007, the Monumental Fire (part of the Cascade Complex BNF) reaches the knob at Loosum Creek. (photo by YPmule)

Sept 3rd 2007, looking SW from the hill behind the Yellow Pine store. The crown fire roared down Johnson Creek towards Yellow Pine, dropped embers over a mile away into the village and beyond. The Monumental Fire hit the 2005 burn in Loosum Creek and headed down the East Fork of the South Fork, eventually meeting the Zena Creek backburn, southwest of Yellow Pine. The Yellow Pine Volunteer Fire Department patrolled in around the village and with the assistance of a strike team, put out the spot fires that would have consumed the village. (photo by YPmule)

Yellow Pine, ID, Sept. 4, 2007. (photo by YPmule)

Sun over Yellow Pine, Sept. 4, 2007. (photo by YPmule)

21 power poles confirmed lost. The power went out in Yellow Pine Sunday Aug. 12th at 3:50pm. That was the start of the power outages. Idaho Power brought a large generator and hooked us back up on Aug 15th (the day after the mandatory evacuation) - the generator ran until Aug 30th when they fixed that section of power lines. Then the fire burned down power poles in another area two days later. Power off Sept 1st - got that one fixed (lights on for two days) and more poles down - power off again on Sept 3rd until Sept 11th. The next day fire burned down another section of poles, power off Sept 12 until Sept 20th, then outages on Sept 22 and 23rd while they worked to replace partially burnt poles. You can just imagine what folk’s deep freezers were like when they allowed people to come back to Yellow Pine! The part timers and folks that evacuated (and unable to be here to run generators) lost all their food in fridges and freezers. PS - Our post office was evacuated (confiscated) Aug 14th, and not returned until Sept 27th. (comments by YPmule, photo courtesy USFS)

From the MODIS satellite, Aug. 13, 2007 (photo courtesy NASA) (no larger image)

Total forest mortality near Yellow Pine, Sept. 27, 2007. (photo by YPmule)

East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River W of Yellow Pine showing the destruction of endangered Chinook salmon habitat. (photos courtesy USFS)

Road damage along the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River from mud flows following the storm of July 22, 2008. (photos courtesy USFS)

Boise NF #1 (photo by Joe B.)

Boise NF #2 (photo by Joe B.)

Boise NF #3 (photo by Joe B.)

Boise NF #4 (photo by Joe B.)

Boise NF #5 (photo by Joe B.)

Boise NF #6 (photo by Joe B.)

Payette NF #1 (photo by Joe B.)

Payette NF #2 (photo by Joe B.)

Payette NF #3 (photo by Joe B.)

Payette NF #4 (photo by Joe B.)

Payette NF #5 (photo by Joe B.)

Payette NF #6 (photo by Joe B.)

Payette NF #7 (photo by Joe B.)

Payette NF #8 — trail damage (photo by Joe B.) (no larger image)

Payette NF #9 (photo by Joe B.)

Creek blowout, Payette NF (photo by Ned Pence)

Near Secesh (photo by Ned Pence)

Logs and sediment (photo by Ned Pence) (no larger image)

Krassel RD, Payette NF (photos by Ned Pence)

Boise NF #7 (photo by Joe B.)

Payette NF #10 (photo by Joe B.)

Boise NF #8 (photo by Joe B.)

Boise NF #9 (photo by Joe B.)

Boise NF #10 (photo by Joe B.)

Boise NF #11 (photo by Joe B.)

Warm Lake area, South Fork of the Salmon River. The Cascade Complex WFU burned most of the SFSR drainage. (photos by Ned Pence)

Siltation on the South Fork of the Salmon River. (photos by Ned Pence)

Bridge replacement at the confluence of the East Fork of the South Fork and the South Fork of the Salmon River.

The fellows in yellow working the East Zone Comlex were told to backburn below Krassel in 2007. They lit the fire on a Red Flag day. The fire burned a bridge and burned the East Fork of the South Fork drainage for 17 miles towards Yellow Pine. The bridge was used as the escape route during the evacuation of Yellow Pine. Neighbors said the bridge rails were on fire when they crossed it. In 2008 a flash flood caused a lot of damage in the East Fork drainage (photos posted above).

This is the bridge replacement project. It shows some of the beautiful views visitors (and kayakers) have along the scenic river (and the road is closed again for the summer, hurting local businesses). The last estimate I saw was for over $2 million to repair damages from the fire and flooding to the roads, bridge and culverts. From what I can find out, the State of Idaho, Valley County, and the FS are sharing the costs. (Photo and commentary courtesy YPmule. No larger image.)

East Zena Creek in 2009 (Photos courtesy Ned Pence).

West Zena Creek in 2009 (Photos courtesy Ned Pence).

Goat Creek in 2009 (Photos courtesy Ned Pence).

Johnson Creek in 2009 (Photos courtesy Ned Pence).

Fire rehab at Poverty Flat in 2009 (Photos courtesy Ned Pence).

24 Oct 2008, 10:45am
by Jim R.


You are doing an outstanding service and I thank you for it.

I would also like to see pictures broadcast of overgrown forests that need harvesting as well as dead and dying forests that need harvesting.

Pictures could also be taken of the many outstanding examples of second growth forests resulting from clearcuts and other even-age stand management practices. Pictures of our deteriorating transportation systems would also be informative.

30 Oct 2008, 6:19pm
by Dan Pence


Sad looking stuff — letting fires burn starting early in the fire season is crazy! As a type one operations chief/type two IC I have stopped hot spots on fires by simply running them into clearcuts that were less than 30 years old. I never had one burn through those areas, even when they hadn’t been thinned. I remember being shocked in 2000 when R-4 announced they were going to let the Clear Creek Fire burn during the peak of fire season on Panther Creek, since it was just inside the River of No Return Wilderness. I marked a 14 MMbf sale (primarily PP and DF) there in 1965. The sale was never made, initially because private land at the mouth of Clear Creek was sold to a doctor who wouldn’t give a right of way (he eventually sold the property to the FS for a tidy sum), but by then it was wilderness. I told my wife letting that fire go at the peak of fire season was going to be disastrous and it was. The entire Clear Creek and lower Panther Creek drainage blew out during a high intensity storm later that fall. It makes me sick to drive up Panther Creek and see all of the fire killed PP and DF located right next to the road (and not in the wilderness!) that is rotting as a result.

17 Nov 2008, 2:00pm
by YPmule


Excellent addition to your already outstanding site, Mike. The size of the photos is perfect, small enough for our slow internet, yet large enough for this blind old lady to see.

Since we live in the middle of this “mess” I’ll be looking for photos that will augment what you have started here.

20 Nov 2009, 8:34pm
by vmtino


Great job folks!!! A truly sad, but accurate behind the scenes account of what really occurs as our forests are so tragically mismanaged. A picture paints a million words…

29 Apr 2010, 6:31am
by Ken


I too live in the middle of this mess. Thank you for displaying it here. If more people really understood what was going on maybe they form different opinions about how to manage these lands. I remember discussions I had with the Idaho Conservation League director about the South fork of the Salmon during the 1980’s. His comment was that he’d rather see it burn to the ground than let one load of logs come out of this area.

He got his way. Thank you for showing the results.

23 May 2010, 8:26pm
by scott


Thank you so much for posting and leaving a written record of what happened. The Payette National Forest response to this is to close even more roads and allow less activity. They believe restricting the last remaining 43 miles of trails and roads are to blame for sediment in the river, not their mismanagement as you clearly demonstrate here. I tell everyone I meet about the loss of our historic forests to mismanagement, but you document it and display it far better than I ever could. Keep up the good work!

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