ASHLAND, Ore. — A patch of land intentionally set on fire burned hotter than intended, resulting in scorched portions of the forest canopy and an unknown number of dead or dying trees that the controlled burn was supposed to help, authorities said.
The 65-acre forestland near Ashland was burned last month as part of the Ashland Forest Resiliency Stewardship Project, the Mail Tribune reported. The project’s goal is to improve the Ashland watershed while reducing wildlife fires.
Darren Borgias of The Nature Conservancy said the controlled burn did not damage the forest duff or soils, did not jump its boundaries and injured no one. But large “legacy trees” were killed, which have been under study in the Rouge River-Siskiyou National Forest.
“We got more scorched trees than we wanted,” said Don Boucher, Ashland Forest Resiliency Stewardship Project manager. “Some will live. Some will die.”
