1. Biscuit Fire, 2002
By: Brittany Ficklin
http://www.uwec.edu/jolhm/EH3/Group9/wildfire_biscuit.jpg

2. Introduction
 In 2002, fire struck
parts of Oregon and
California.
 This disaster was
known as the
“Biscuit Fire.”
 500,000 acres of
national forest were
burned.
 The land was
national forest, but
there were many
people who lived
around the area.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/rsl/projects/postfirecond
ition/images/2002/BiscuitFire.jpg

3. When and Where?
Date: July 12-15, 2002.
Location: Siskiyou National
Forest (Parts of Oregon
and California).
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/NASA_Biscuit_fire.jpg

4. Significance
-The Biscuit Fire was
the largest fire
recorded up to date in
the history of the state
of Oregon.
-It was also the most
costly fire in all of
Oregon.
http://www.salem-
news.com/stimg/june132007/biscuit-
burnout_8dollarb-3501.jpg

5. Death Toll
 Zero fatalities.
 There were no fatalities
because there were not too
many buildings and homes
nearby.
 There was also plenty of
time to evacuate the people
that were in the area.
 15,000 people evacuated in
a timely manner.
 No one died trying to put
out the fire either.
http://www.opb.org/programs/oregonconsidered/archives/0307_protest.jpg

6. Short Term Long Term
Economic and Societal Toll
 Most costly fire in Oregon
history.
 Took $150,000,000 to
extinguish the fire.
 A successful timber industry
was created after the fire.
 Caused the largest recorded
timber sale in U.S. history.
 They sold over 70 million
board feet of fire killed
lumber.
 The bush administration was
also affected.
 Bush pushed for “forest
health” logging and for
salvaging, planting, and
reforestation.
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd
9GcRAT3lt4uqLXbeG7O4BGNpWbIusi
7qmYxelN7s1_XLTMcXbHzHf

7. Science
 Lightning was the ignition source
in the “Biscuit Fire.”
 Five separate locations were
struck, inflaming the surrounding
areas.
 Eventually these five separate fires
joined into one big fire.
 However, the forests have
historically been fire dependent
(meaning frequent low intensity fire
is needed to help clear out forest
undergrowth so trees can thrive).
 Years of fire suppression caused
extra dry growth.
 All the dry branches caused a
crown wildfire (wildfire extended to
the tops of the trees in many
areas).
http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/green/2008/07/08/lightn18.jpg

8. Was this Event Preventable?
 The event was not preventable.
 Lightning was the ignition
source.
 Humans cannot start massive
fires as seen here and are never
the primary cause.
 They also do not create the
problem.
 Wildfire is a natural event that
occurs within nature.
 Humans can try to mitigate
hazard by putting out fires with
water, chemicals, or trying to
suppress the fire.
http://www.fws.gov/fire/images/employ.jpg

9. Lessons Learned
 There are more than one
ways to fight a fire.
 Fire suppression was
learned to be used in
extreme cases.
 Forest logging and
salvaging can also cause
detrimental effects to the
forest’s ecosystem.
 However, debate remains
over these topics. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/11/16/us/16wildfires_span.jpg

10. Eye Witness Account
-Residents in the
nearby area were
told to evacuate.
-One man chose to
stay and defend his
home.
-The next slide tells
his story.
http://cmsimg.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DS&Date=
20130706&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=307050016&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Bo
rder=0&Garden-Street-home-destroyed-two-other-houses-damaged-fire-
department-reports

11. “I saw the backfire had exploited the breach in the line and was creeping slowly
down the ridge back toward Oak Flat. Had firefighters jumped on the backfire early
that morning or the previous night, I believe it could have been controlled. I
bulldozed a fire trail along the upper part of our property to try to slow the backfire
down. A large crew of government firefighters arrived at 10 A.M. They held their
regular safety meeting for about an hour (the normal and most effective time for
firefighting is during the night or at first light, when the fire is cool). Our daughter
arrived at noon with a new water tank and pipe so we could rebuild our water line.
About an hour later, as the afternoon heated up, the backfire came rushing down
the hillside. It burned up much of our private timber and destroyed the Huerta, Egan
and Lloyd homes, as well as our newly installed water lines and tanks. Firefighters
retreated to our property. A helicopter dumped water until propane tanks started
exploding. Firefighters retreated along the upper logging road in the evening.
The backfire then ran south and east up the Illinois River and eventually overran the
McCaleb Ranch Boy Scout Camp, burning virtually the entire length of the Illinois
River from Oak Flat to the national forest boundary north of Selma—a distance of
fourteen miles. In addition to the structures destroyed at Oak Flat, the backfire
wiped out private timber holdings along the way and thousands of acres of national
forest.”
Eye Witness Account cont.

12. Real Life
Application
-For people who live out west,
there are more chances of
hearing about wildfires.
-Wildfire occurs where brush
and forest are dry and there is
plenty of fuel, oxygen, and
heat.
-For me, I won’t have to worry
about this much because area
near coastal plains aren’t as
subject to wildfire.
-Of course, wildfire is possible
anywhere under the right
conditions.
-I don’t have personal
experience with this disaster. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/07/23/article-0-142C661E000005D
807_634x356.jpg

13. Conclusion
-It took months to finally
extinguish the entire fire.
-The fire was declared
controlled in early
November.
-It was finally put out in
December.
http://kalmiopsiswild.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Biscuit-6-aW-300x225.jpg

14. References
http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/biscuit_fire_of_2002/
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-426
http://kalmiopsiswild.org/the-biscuit-fire-time-to-bury-the-myths/
http://www.hcn.org/issues/257/14197/print_view
http://www.fire-ecology.org/research/biscuit_suppression.html
http://www.uwec.edu/jolhm/EH3/Group9/wildfirebiscuitfire.htm
Contributors:
-I was the only member in my group.