The prescribed burn that turned into the Big Meadow Fire in Yosemite National Park last August has been reviewed, and among other things, its plan has been found “inadequate” even though it met National Park Service policy. The complete report of the review appears on Yosemite National Park’s Web site.

According to the document, the fire plan met policy, “but was inadequate as it included a large area with diverse fuel types, topography and environmental factors.” The Park Service says that the burn was underrated in it complexity.

In specific regard to the prescription for the burn, NPS again says it was inadequate. “The burn plan did not specifically address the extremely heavy leading of 100 and 1,000 hour fuels as well as large numbers of standing snags that were immediately adjacent to and upslope of the burn unit,” the report states. The heavy fuel loads and snags were the direct result of the Arch Rock fire in 1990.

“The escape resulted from embers igniting snags and other heavy fuels outside the burn area,” the report says. It further notes that “snag to snag spotting” was a particular problem, sometimes at distances over 100 feet.

Maybe one of the most disturbing findings is the fact that the use of the bulldozer that was in the area was “discouraged” because of potential impacts to cultural and other resources. According to the report, when the escape happened, the “burn boss” was unable to contact the person who could grant authority to use the bulldozer, creating a delay in its deployment.

Personnel vacancies appear to have added to the problem. The report says that a number of “key leadership positions were vacant” in the Park’s fire management program at the time of the blaze. This is said to have “impacted the planning and implementation of the project.”

The report, however, does not place blame on any one person. “On the Big Meadow prescribed burn, various individuals had knowledge of particular risks and hazards associated with the burn, but no one individual had the complete picture,” it says.

The Big Meadow fire burned about 7,400 acres in Yosemite, closing some roads and forcing evacuations in Foresta, Crane Flat and El Portal.

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