I haven’t really had any hands on experience with wildfire. Although, I did live in Bend for 3 and ½ years and during that time I became very aware that wildfire is something to be respected. I took several backpacking trips through the post-fire B & B Complex several years after it had burned. The trips into the mess of burned snags made me very aware of the devastation that fire wields. It was obvious however, that there was something that kept the entire complex from burning at the same severity. It was a mixed severity fire and in a few places there was complete devastation, in others some life yet lived. It was very interesting to speculate the reasons behind this. At the time, my knowledge of fire existed from behind the door of my woodstove or surrounded with friends roasting food on sticks. I speculated that the reason some of these areas were left unscathed was due to the amount of vegetation (fuel) or the amount of water that was adjacent to the area. I never considered the ideas that; prescribed fires, aspect, fuel loading, wind speed and direction, and many others played in this scenario. Looking back it is easy to see that certain areas were spared or consumed for these reasons. Additionally, now when I see prescribed fires occurring in this area. I understand their use and the function of reducing fuel loads. They are actively managing the one aspect of the combustion triangle that is most easily attained. Oxygen and heat are much harder to preventatively control than fuel loading can be.

This is a picture of a small portion of the 2003 B&B Complex.

Photo Source:http://www.oregonphotos.com/B%20and%20B%20Complex.html

Photographer: Bruce Johnson