On September 16th I wrote about smoke conditions continuing from the Tea Time Fire because the fire is burning in the forest duff layer. I regret that I did not take the time to share a little about what a forest duff layer is. I am sure that some of you reading this already know what a duff layer is, but some of you may not.
The Northwest Fire Consortium writes about three types: ground fires, surface fires and crown fires: "Ground fires burn mostly in decayed roots below ground and in the duff layer. The duff layer is made up of compacted dead plant materials such as leaves, bark, needles, and twigs."
As I understand it, in the case of the Tea Time Fire which burned approximately 4,300 acres in the Wharton State Forest (see my July 8th update for more information), while the fire is contained within the fire perimeter and the fire lines seem to be holding, the fire continues to burn in the duff layer. In the case of this fire, it is creating smoke conditions and the fire in the duff could burn for awhile.
I was looking around for some graphic information to show you the duff layer and came across this short 30 second video from Will Boyd's Science and Stewardship.
Direct link to video from Will Boyd's Science and Stewardship on YouTube
I close with a video report from KOIN 6 out of Portland Oregon. I like this video because they are reporting about a large wildfire (that burned three years) that could of affected the larger community who was in the process of returning to their homes. This is because the fire was continuing to burn in the duff layer. While this scenario is different from the Tea Time Fire in the Wharton State Forest, I share the video because the report mentions a wildfire that was continuing to burn in the duff layer after wildland fire fighters had made significant progress containing the wildfire.
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