Rain moderates Granite Gulch Fire activity

JOSEPH, Ore. — August 30, 2019 —A little rain Wednesday night and Thursday coupled with higher humidity slowed fire activity and spread on the Granite Gulch Fire, enabling fire resources to focus on spot fires cause by wind-carried firebrands late Wednesday.

"The spots showed very little growth [Thursday] afternoon and are being held in the riparian area," Incident Commander Adam Wing said. None of the spot fires traveled more than 75 feet from the water's edge.

Natural fire is part of the riparian -- stream bank and channel -- ecosystem and can improve habitat quality by adding woody material that slows the water's flow and provides refuge. Post-fire erosion adds gravel for spawning habitat.

"Currently the Granite Gulch Fire is likely to result in overall positive benefits to aquatic habitat in the Minam River," said Alan Miller, a fisheries biologist for the Eagle Cap Ranger District, who also said that's not always the case.

 "Human land use, particularly long-term fire suppression, has altered the intensity and frequency of wildfire in forested upland and riparian areas," he explained. Catastrophic fires -- the type that burns quickly and at a very high intensity and kills the majority of trees in a forested area -- can destroy shade needed to keep water temperatures cool and adding fine sediments to existing spawning gravel.

The Granite Gulch Fire has burned at low to moderate intensities and was estimated to be 5,400 acres Thursday evening, compared to 3,800 acres a week ago.

"The east face of the fire has moved about half a mile in the past week," fire behavior analyst Bret Ruby said. "It's hardly moved at all to the west, at most a quarter mile."

Please be careful with campfires, equipment and other sources of heat while visiting the Forest.