I have been working in the US Forest Service within the Mendocino National Forest for about two months now and it has been enlightening. I have been learning more in-depth about the Mendocino, and it is impressive to note that our forest consists of notable wilderness areas, and how important our OHV program is in terms of available recreation options. Mendocino National Forest has over 300,000 acres dedicated to wilderness, which is over 33% of the entire acreage of the forest. I was able to go out into the field and see what our National Forest has to offer, including working alongside peers that have worked for the Forest Service for years. Field days are a personal favorite of mine, but I’m also grateful to learn about the office work needed within the Forest Service.
I spent three days in the field, helping a hydrologist flag trees 50 feet from each side of streams, to make sure that when crews go in the forest with machinery, they cannot use motorized tools within those flagged areas. The days were long and hot, but they were rewarding, although extremely messy considering the ash that gets everywhere. Throughout the Mendocino, there is an abundance of burnt trees. One part of the plan in the Mendocino National Forest is to remove hazardous trees after the devasting August Complex Fire.
A complex fire describes the fire as having multiple ignition points, for the August Complex Fire, lighting was the main culprit. The notable fire began August 18th and wasn’t fully contained till November 12th. The August Complex Fire was the single largest wildfire as well as the largest complex fire in California’s history; also known as a ‘gigafire’ which is a fire that has spread over a million acres. The number of acres burned in the Mendocino was about 612,000 which led to over 500,000 dead trees throughout the forest, over 67% of the Mendocino National Forest was burned. An accumulation of fuels and bark beetle killed trees heavily led to the explosiveness of the August Complex Fire. The Mendocino National Forest has created a plan to reduce fuel loads and utilize prescribed fire to mitigate future fire impacts the forest might face.
Seeing the forest after a devasting burn was a shock, I remember reading articles about the fires and seeing pictures but coming across these burned areas in person really makes it sink in how grand the August Complex Fire was. Although quite a bit of the forest is burned, I was able to view parts of the forest that were left untouched. Wildlife is still heavily prevalent in the Mendocino despite the devasting burns; every time I’ve been out in the field I have come across doe and her fawns. Overall, my experience has been rewarding and filled with opportunities to learn and I am excited to see what the future holds!