Whiskeytown: Carr Fire Survivor

Wildland firefighter watches over a controlled burn in the Historic Tower House District (April, 2022). Photo: NPS/Edwige Moses

May is National Wildfire Awareness Month. Coincidentally, we happen to be volunteering in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area where the most destructive fire in the National Park system history (the Carr Fire of 2018) destroyed 97% of the park’s 42,000 acres.

Whiskeytown is located in Northern California, about 10 miles west of the community of Redding. The fire was named after the location where it started, on Highway 299 near Carr Powerhouse Road. It is believed to have been started accidentally from the sparks of a rim scraping the pavement.

Close-up of a charred tree located near the Carr Fire’s point of origin. Photo: NPS/Kurt Moses

The destruction from the resulting fire was such that the entirety of Whiskeytown was initially closed to the public. Over the past few years, the Park’s staff and outside partners have made significant progress towards rebuilding infrastructures and restoring the trails. On April 11th, 2022, the Park officially re-opened the majority of the hiking trails that had remained closed since 2018. As well, for the first time since the Carr Fire, ranger-led programs for school groups have resumed in the Park. To date, the Lakeshore Day Use areas have reopened, dozens of miles of roads have been repaired and opened, and at least 20,000 hazard trees have been removed. Although there has been tremendous progress, the recovery and rebuilding of Whiskeytown is still ongoing.

Park ranger leads the first school-group program since the Carr Fire. Photo: NPS/Kurt Moses

Wildfires have been occurring for hundreds of millions of years but due to climate change these types of fires are happening more frequently and with more intensity. The Northern California region has been caught in a vicious cycle of extreme heat, drought and fire for multiple years. Wildfires are not just a result of climate change, they also contribute to it.

Whiskeytown’s expert fire and trail crews have been working very hard to alleviate some of the wildfire risk by reducing forest fuel loads in the Park. Prescribed fires and hazard tree felling are just a couple ways they mitigate the risk. The Park has also utilized goats as a way to clear underbrush at the Tower House Historic District. It is amazing what a couple hundred grazing goats can do to reduce fire hazard by creating defensible space around structures.

Park’s Journey-level feller removes a hazard tree in the Brandy Creek Beach Area. Photo: NPS/Kurt Moses

Guardian dog herds goats to the next grazing area in Tower House Historic District. Photo: NPS/Kurt Moses

Park’s Wildland Firefighter throws brush onto burn pile during a controlled burn operation near the Visitor Center. Photo: NPS/Kurt Moses

Many of the Park’s current staff witnessed the Carr Fire’s devastation first hand, some even lost their homes. As National Park volunteers, we have had the privilege to document through photography the restoration efforts and just a few of the exceptional people that work here. We support the National Parks because we believe in their mission to preserve the natural and cultural resources. However, our biggest reward at Whiskeytown was to get to know and learn from a very talented and dedicated group of rangers as we photographed their work in the field.

Vistabule near Brandy Creek Beach, Whiskeytown Lake (April, 2022). Photo: Kurt Moses

It is almost certain that a large fire will impact this area again in the near future. Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and many sites like it are susceptible to the dire consequences of a rapidly changing climate. Threats like wildfires are morphing America’s landscapes at a faster pace than at any time in history. If you are planning a road trip to Northern California, consider visiting Whiskeytown or any other National Park site before they are changed forever.