Fireworks are a main cause of human-started wildfires in sagebrush county. Wenatchee residents will remember the July 6, 2014 Skyline Drive Wildfire, accidentally ignited at 2:15am by fireworks along the paved road below Old Butte. A multi-agency crew of over 100 firefighters put it out by 6am using helicopter water dumps, pumper trucks, and hand crews. 9 homes were evacuated, and the fire had the potential to spread to over 60 homes in Canyon Number Two. Luckily, high winds didn’t materialize and the fire was extinguished after it crawled over the top of Saddle Rock.

For decades before the July 2014 fire, this hillside supported high-quality shrub-steppe habitat, with a high diversity of native shrubs, bunchgrasses, and perennial wildflowers and almost no non-native weeds.

Below is what it looked like before the July 2014 fire. It is a poster-child of high-quality shrub-steppe habitat. Over 90 species are native plants thrive here and most are adapted to a fire-prone environment. Woody shrub are scattered, so when lightning strikes on a windless day, the fire footprint stays small due to lack of fuel.

All but the woody big sagebrush and antelope bitterbrush are adapted to re-sprout after fire. After fire, seeds to grow big sagebrush and bitterbrush blow in on the wind from nearby shrubs. After the July 2014 fire, cheatgrass did not get a toe-hold here as the native perennials quickly recovered and filled in the charred bare soil. Compare a few pairs photos to see what this looks like:

Watch this compelling short video, produced by National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab or Ornithology and Intermountain West Joint Venture:

Invasive grasses are putting sagebrush country at risk of severe wildfires. This vibrant ecosystem is vital for people and wildlife. We need to do our part to protect it, especially with fireworks this weekend. Watch and share this new video to learn what we need to do to stop the spread of invasive grasses and restore degraded sagebrush habitats.

Want to learn more about shrub-steppe ecosystems and fire? Check out resources at:

WILDFIRE OF THE SHRUB-STEPPE

1. Guest Blog post by Ellen Kulhmann, Plant Recovery After Fire.
2. Article by Susan Ballinger, Wildfires Effect on Local Landscape.
3. Plant Adaptations and Fire by Ellen Kuhlmann Article from the Doulgasii, Washington Native Plant Society Publication.
4. Susan Ballinger Powerpoint: East-side Cascades Shrub-steppe Ecosystems: Ecological relationships to wildfire
5. Sagebrush Ecosystem Curriculum. View PowerPoint Presentation titles “Fire and the Sagebrush Ecosystem” and “Succession in the Sagebrush Ecosystem”
6. Poster: Sagebrush Ecosystem Web of Life
7. Cascadia Conservation District’s Kids in the Forest video series.

CONSERVATION ISSUES: INVASIVE WEEDS AND WILDFIRE

1. Tackling invasive species and wildfire in the Great Basin, BLM.
2. Unraveling Sagebrush Community Change  to Manage for Resilient Sage Grouse Habitats.  Sage Grouse Initiative/ Intermountain West Joint Venture. Excellent discussion & illustrations on succession, root morphology, & the impacts of invasive annual grasses in shrub-steppe plant communities. 
3. What About Cheatgrass? Resource Card Background Information, Pacific NW National Laboratory.
4. Short introductory article by Susan Ballinger about shrub-steppe, We Can Help Keep Nature in Balance.  
5. Conserve our Western Roots– A powerful graphic poster and postcards that illustrate the types of deep roots on native shrub-steppe shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses that show that rangelands are like upside down rainforests.