Changes in Severity Distribution after Subsequent Fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA

Research on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park reveals that subsequent fires have minimal influence on the distribution of high-severity burn patches, with second entry fires often exhibiting a near-random overlap with initial severity patterns. Between 2000 and 2011, 48% of re-burned areas experienced equal severity in both fires, while 26% each burned with higher or lower severity in the second fire. Despite this, high-severity patches showed little change in size distribution post-second entry, though their total area increased due to new and expanded patches. These findings suggest that fire-on-fire interactions may not significantly alter landscape-level severity patterns, offering insights for land management strategies.

Hoff, V., Teske, C. C., Riddering, J. P., Queen, L. P., Gdula, E. G., & Bunn, W. A. (2014). Changes in Severity Distribution after Subsequent Fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA. Fire Ecology, 10(2), 48–63. https://doi.org/10.4996/fireecology.1002048