Aug 26, 2015

Orchards help slow Washington state wildfires

Washington grower Curt Cuelich lost part of his apple orchard to a fierce wildfire, but the flames couldn’t penetrate deep into the trees because of something known as the “green buffer.”

The Seattle Times has more:

       On a windswept afternoon, a firestorm leapt across the Okanogan River, raced through arid acreage of bitterbrush and grass, and slammed into the orchard of Curt Guelich.

        The heat roasted the outer edge of trees, baking Galas, Granny Smiths and Goldens and, in a spot where wooden picking bins were stacked, turned trunks into sad charcoal stumps.

       But all summer long, this orchard had been soaking up water that kept the foliage moist and nurtured a heavy crop of juicy fruit. Though the orchard took a significant hit, the vast majority of fruit trees survived as the fire was unable to penetrate deep into this oasis.

       All across this county, crews are building mile upon mile of fire lines to try to stop the advance of the largest wildfire complex in state history, vital work that takes time, money and human labor. But as the flames roared last week toward communities, the county’s orchards and other fields of irrigated agriculture growing on swaths of the valley floor played a role in stopping the advance of the burns.

       “This thing would have gone on through had we not had green areas to stop it,” said Guelich. “The orchard’s mostly water — a water-reservoir buffer.”

        With the fire now past, this and other orchards bear a cornucopia of fruit, and the harvests of apples and pears are once again under way, albeit amid a thick haze of smoke.

Guelich estimates that five of his 140 acres were destroyed. He hopes that many of the lost trees can be cut off at the stump and grafted. The farm doesn’t have insurance on the trees.