Stories


Holloway Fire, Trout Creek Mts., Oregon
August 7-17, 2012
Candid Observations of a Wandering Photographer
Jonne M. Goeller  © 2014

        In just ten days, over one million acres of the best high desert and sage grouse habitat in Oregon burned to a crisp. Federal agencies and multiple state jurisdictions failed to respond with a coordinated effort with any sort of urgency to a small lightning fire. When the fire crossed the state line from Nevada into Oregon, firefighters from Nevada walked away. Teams from Oregon had not even been assigned yet, as reported to us by local residents. Thousands of animals including sage grouse, reptiles, insects, deer, antelope and cattle lost their lives to the horrific fire. Local ranchers lost their livelihood as their livestock and their grazing allotments were converted to charcoal. Fence lines, gates, spring improvements, and road systems were also severely damaged.

 
"Fire Killed Mule Deer"

       

"Fire Killed Antelope"



















        
            
         In late May of 2013 we made the first of seven trips out to the Trout Creek Range to assess the damage. The photo below was taken on the White Horse Truck Road on the north end of the Trout Creek Mts. It shows what a million acre fire looks like…as far as the eye can see. There was no sign of any living creature for miles, not even birds. 

What a one million acre fire looks like...
          Successive trips during the rest of the summer included extensive hiking in the upper reaches of the range. Everywhere we went, we encountered numerous bone piles left from burned animals….deer, antelope, sage grouse, and cattle. Unlike coyote and cougar kills where bones get packed off, the bone piles were pretty complete. There was little or no feed left, as black earth dominated the scene. Even the rock formations bore scorch marks and were cracked from the fire’s heat. The ambient ground and air temperature soared every afternoon radiating from the blackened earth.



          Drought conditions only added to the problems as winter snows and spring rains were much below normal until the winter of 2016-2017.  Dandelions somehow survived and re-sprouted that first spring.  One hundred year old aspen and mountain mahogany trees groves no longer provided homes to migrant bird populations as they arrived from the south. 



        No mice, no lizards, no snakes, no ants, beetles or any other ground dwellers were visible the summer of 2013. The entire food chain was broken. No sounds other than wind. Every historic structure in the path of the fire, such as Doolittle Cow Camp, was decimated. Water sources, such as improved springs with tanks, were decimated.
 
"Cabin at Doolittle Cow Camp"

            
"Fire Damaged Spring"   Fences destroyed.

          
         By late August of 2013, only a handful of the larger animals such as deer, antelope, and coyotes began to make their way back into the range. Grasses had begun to regenerate around the spring areas. A few pockets of habitat that the fire had skipped over, were coming alive…they had been spared only because an existing road or rock rim had stopped the fire. 


             Thousands of sage grouse, that had been abundant in the Trout Creek Mountains prior to the fire, were missing. The only sign that sage grouse once inhabited the area were grouse droppings turned to ash. The handful of sage grouse we did see wandering around on scorched earth, without the cover of sagebrush, were extremely vulnerable to predators.




            Firefighters did protect a handful of remote ranches around the base of the range, but the loss of livestock was severe. This was one of the largest fires in the history of the State of Oregon. It should stand as a monument to the folly of the “let it burn” policy of the federal agencies who are supposed to be the stewards of our public lands. The Holloway fire was a dirty little secret that escaped any serious attention from the public or the news media. How big is one million acres? It is as far as the eye can see...and beyond. The photographs speak volumes. The map of the fire below shows its rapid progression over ten days.


  UPDATES: In a 2015 press release, then Interior Secretary, Sally Jewel, finally acknowledged that uncontrolled wildfires are causing the most damage to sage grouse habitat, and that a change is needed in how fires are managed in the west. 
 As of the summer of 2017, five years after the fire, recovery has a mixed review. Some areas are coming back nicely, but many are coming back totally covered with invasive weeds such as cheat grass. A quote from Wikipedia says it all:
"Cheat grass has become a dominant species in the Intermountain West and parts of Canada, and displays especially invasive behavior in the sagebrush steppe ecosystems where it has been listed as a noxious weed.[3] B. tectorum often enters the site in an area that has been disturbed, and then quickly expands into the surrounding area through its rapid growth and prolific seed production.[4]
The reduction of native plants and the increased fire frequency caused by B. tectorum prompted the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to examine if the greater sage-grouse needed to be listed as a threatened or endangered species due to habitat destruction. After the review was completed by the USFWS, Secretarial Order 3336 was signed with the goal of reducing the threat of rangeland fires and preserve habitat by reducing downy brome."
Even after five years, there are still areas where the fire was so hot that the soil itself still remains scorched black and lifeless. Damage done to the roads by scraping them bare in order to provide quick fire breaks has still not been repaired. Existing road water bars were destroyed in the process, allowing for extensive water damage to roads located on slopes. Subsequent erosion from lack of ground cover, has only exacerbated their condition. 
    
      

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