In the intense heat we have had through June, July, and August, with a stationary “heat dome”, you expect that wildfires will burn in Texas. Usually, wildfires are started by humans. Historically about 85-90% of wildfires are caused by careless or deliberate human actions.
In July 2023, four wildfires started in Indian Mounds and or Upland Island Wilderness Areas and all were caused by lightning. Many forest ecosystems historically evolved with lightning fires.
How in the heck does this happen in the middle of a drought with over 100-degree temperatures! Small thunderheads potentially have dry lightning, where rain evaporates before it hits the ground, associated with them. Dry lightning apparently started these four wildfires.
In Wilderness, human actions are limited with Nature calling the shots. However, for wildfire control, the Wilderness Act allows human wildfire suppression to prevent impacts to people outside Wilderness.
This is how these four wildfires in the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas have been addressed. In Indian Mounds Wilderness Area (IMWA), a lightning fire was discovered (called the Hogpen Wildfire) on July 24th, by a U.S. Forest Service (FS) fire patrol.
The FS has monitored, suppressed, and contained all four wildfires to ensure that they don’t harm homes or private property. To contain a wildfire, a perimeter is placed around the fire so that it can’t escape. The wildfire is allowed to burn up to that perimeter.
The IMWA wildfire, as of August 5, 2023, has burned over 1,200 acres, all in the IMWA, and has burned to the shoreline of Toledo Bend Reservoir. Backfires (lit against the wind) have been used to direct where this wildfire burns. Chainsaws, leaf blowers, and helicopters (used to dip water from Toledo Bend to drop it on the wildfire) have also been used to contain this fire.
These wildfires will kill some vegetation, wound other plants, but will clear out undergrowth and provide additional light and openings in the forest floor for wildflowers, native grasses, and other plants to grow. Wildfires in East Texas are normal and not bad for forest ecosystems.
Upland Island Wilderness Area (UIWA) has had three lighting fires in July. The Jim Boykin Wildfire was found on July 8th. It’s located on the east side of UIWA and burned 18.86 acres before it was contained.
On July 23rd, the Rolling Fire was found, also on the east side of UIWA. It was contained within 27.5 acres.
On August 2nd, the Graham Wildfire was found. This wildfire burned 0.1 acre. It’s in the extreme southwestern part of UIWA and near the Neches River Floodplain and tributaries for the Neches River.
It’s important when we enter Wilderness areas that we are careful so that we don’t start wildfires that can affect people outside of Wilderness.
The good news is that these four Texas Wilderness wildfires create good, rich, ash which fuels plant growth. That good isn’t outweighed by the effects that these wildfires have on vegetation and soil. It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature, but in these cases, we should have better functioning forests and other ecosystems in UIWA and IMWA because of natural lightning started wildfires.