Wildfires Spark Peril, Opportunity for Wildlife

Aug. 18, 2007 — -- One of the most memorable scenes from the 1942 animated classic "Bambi" is the forest fire that sends Bambi and his friends frantically scrambling out of the way of enormous flames.

The reality, though, is that wild animals usually don't resort to such frantic escapes. But with increased development and the rising incidence and severity of wildfires in the United States, fires are more frequently driving animals out of their home range, and in many places, into populated areas.

Near Northern California's Lake Tahoe, where the 3,100 acre Angora fire burned in June, calls are pouring into the BEAR League, an all-volunteer group that responds to bear sightings around the lake. Since the fire, sightings have doubled, according to Ann Bryant, who heads the group.

"It's fire and drought," she said. "There's no water and the berries have withered on their vines. The black bears are coming down from the mountain to the houses surrounding the lake. We're getting calls about bears going through the garbage, passing through neighborhoods and sometimes getting hit by cars."

Bryant said her group found six or seven bear carcasses in the burned area. The fire displaced several older male bears that moved and drove out smaller bears. "We're seeing new bears from where they've never come before, forced down off the mountainside," said Bryant.

Drop That Cat!

Animals are also moving down from the hills for food in one of the nation's largest urban parks. Three months ago, a fire burned 800 acres, about a third of the park, in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Deer, coyotes and other animals are moving to the unburned areas of the park for food but also into the neighborhoods surrounding the park. Residents are calling more frequently about deer and coyote sightings around their homes, according to senior ranger Patrick Joyce.

Laura Garcia, who lives a mile from Griffith Park, said she pulled into her driveway one evening and her car's headlights shone on a thin, mangy coyote with a housecat in its mouth. She got out of the car and left the headlights on. "I walked up to the coyote," said Garcia, "and said, 'Drop that!'"

Startled, the coyote dropped the cat and ran past her up the driveway. Garcia looked down at the cat and saw it was her neighbor's pet. She realized the 20-year-old animal was already dead. When she looked up, the coyote was still sitting there, watching her.

"It wasn't going to leave without that cat," said Garcia. "So I looked at the coyote and said, 'Take it.' He walked right in front of me and picked up the cat. Then he turned around and walked right past me and walked off."

Animal Instinct

Dry and windy weather is fueling more than 50 large wildfires around the country, mostly in the West. More than 6 million acres have already burned this year, greater than the yearly average since 1997 of 4.6 million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. A fast-moving blaze can trap an animal, but the number of casualties is relatively low, according to wildlife officials and biologists.

From frogs to deer to bear, many animals are accustomed to a fire breaking out where they live. That's because they evolved over thousands of years in environments prone to wildfires, according to Bill Leenhouts, a fire management specialist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

He said animals have an instinct on how to avoid fire and use their knowledge of escape routes. But he's also heard of animals approaching fire.

During a fire about 20 years ago in South Carolina, officials counted 38 deer leaving the 600-acre fire, 20 deer walking into the area and a flock of turkeys right in front of the fire line, feasting on bugs the flames tossed up.

"After the fire, all they found were two dead turtles," said Leenhouts.

It is not surprising that turtles should be left behind. Typically, the effects of a fire suffocate the slower-moving animals.

Hide or Flee

Dave Romero, a wildlife biologist and firefighter in Montana's Bitterroot National Forest, said fire usually traps the smaller animals such as snakes, mice, moles and squirrels that can't outrun the flames. After a 356,000 acre fire in 2000, forest officials found a dead terrestrial garter snake.

"The snake's heat sensor thought the fire was something it had to put up a fight with," said Romero. "And it was flash-frozen in a coiled and striking position."

Other animals, though, can get out of the way. Frogs can burrow underground near streams. Deer, bear and bobcats can wander to a safer location. Each fire burns very differently but often leaves patches of the animals' habitats.

"Not every single inch of acreage is burned," said Donna Toth, a biologist with the Los Padres National Forest. "You'll find that there will be islands in the center of a burned area which results in a mosaic pattern."

Firefighting efforts may help the animals as well.

The first consideration is firefighter and public safety, Romero said. But when a fire team comes in, they will also look at cultural and wildlife resources, including any threatened or endangered species.

"Do we have nests out there, any known dens?" said Romero. "We will put that on the map and keep the fire away to minimize effects to that area. But in most cases, there's really not much you can do to help."

How Fire Benefits Wildlife

The impact of fires on animals, most biologists agree, can be overwhelmingly positive, even a day later. Romero recently monitored the 600-acre Tin Cup fire near Darby, Mont.,, which came close to homes.

"The day after the handlines and doziers went through, we already had tracks from bobcats, grouse and turkeys," he said. "They love to lick the salts and minerals in the burned areas."

Immediately after a fire, an animal may have to temporarily move to another part of its home range. It might have more competition for food. And in the case of a deer, it may mean new predators to look out for.

"Fire is very valuable to restoring natural conditions," said Toth of the Los Padres forest. "Fire releases nutrients. Within months, grasses, wildflowers and brush start to grow again. That's very nutritious food for deer and they move back into the area."

Fire can be so beneficial that that the U.S. Forest Service and other federal and state agencies set deliberate fires called prescribed burns that are carefully monitored and controlled.

"Especially here in Southern California, it's meant to burn every 10 to 20 years," said Toth. "We're introducing fire back into the environment to reset this natural part of the ecosystem. The problem is that densely stocked old vegetation that hasn't burned in 40 years can burn with such intensity that it bakes the soil and it won't be able to absorb water."