Columbia Gorge News: Prescribed burns more important than ever
By Emma Renly, for Columbia Gorge News
THE GORGE — “We’re ready for things to be drier than normal,” said Lucas King, fire and fuels program at Mt. Adams Resource Stewards (MARS). The organization works to put good fire, more commonly known as prescribed burns, on the forest floor of fire-adapted landscapes in the Gorge.
The data supports a dry summer — from January to March 2026, Skamania County recorded 5.67 inches below normal precipitation, and Hood River County 4.29 inches below. This, along with a low snowpack, 39% of the historical median as previously reported by the Columbia Gorge News, is a recipe for heightened wildfire risk.
Because of the conditions, King said that fuel reduction efforts are more important than ever, as the forests in the Gorge are far from their historic conditions due to a century of fire suppression. With prescribed burns, the built-up surface fuels — small trees, litter and duff (mostly pine litter and grass) — are recycled back into the soil, creating a healthier ecosystem and possibly preventing a high-severity, catastrophic wildfire.
“We’ve seen forests respond well — large trees have less competition with small trees and brush,” King said, adding that the flora, such as native grasses, also perk up after surface fuel burns.
