fuels-reduction-guide-2023 - Flipbook - Page 12
The Craggy Project
The Craggy Project played a key role in slowing fire spread and keeping fire out of the
community of Hawkinsville and the greater Yreka area. It was beneficial to firefighters
suppressing the Badger Fire and contributed to the successful protection of communities and
infrastructure in this area of high fire risk.
Account provided by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
O
n July 18, 2020 two fires, the
Humbug and Badger, were
burning in State Responsibility
Area just north of Yreka. Eventually
merging into one, the Badger fire
was contained at approximately 600
acres 10 days later. At the time of
the fire, approximately 600 acres
of mastication and 1,400 acres of
hand thinning and piling had been
completed on the Craggy Project.
The western part of the Badger
Fire reached areas within the
Craggy Project footprint that had
been treated using mastication.
Fire spread dramatically slowed
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in those masticated areas as the
fire transitioned from crown fire to
surface fire. This reduction in the
speed of spread allowed bulldozers
time to safely build indirect fireline
across the bottom of the fire
during the evening and tie it in by
daybreak. The lack of brush also
eliminated the need for crews to
be on hand conducting fireline
improvements, freeing them up to
work on other areas of the fire.
Continued implementation of this
project will enhance these benefits
during future fire events.
