Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Local loggers are getting a reprieve from fire restrictions, thanks the mass of rain and moisture that fell on the Sweet Home area over the past week.
The Oregon Department of Forestry reduced the fire danger rating to low from medium and Industrial Fire Precaution from level II to level I Sunday morning in the South Cascades District.
“At some of the weather stations, we were already getting an inch and a half for the past 24 hours,” said Sweet Home Unit Forester Craig Pettinger. “We’re not quite ready to call fire season yet. The 1,000-hour fuel needs rain on it for a long time for it to really soak in.”
Pettinger expects weather to be pleasant and seasonable by the end of this week “and then another shot of rain next week,” he said. “If the next shot is substantial, we would probably have a discussion about how long we want to hang onto this.”
Typically, fire season ends in late September and more often in recent years in October. Typically, east winds keep the fuels dried out.
But those east winds haven’t appeared yet and aren’t in the forecast, Pettinger said. If the moisture is substantial, though, the ODF will need to loosen restrictions.
“This is beautiful,” Pettinger said. “We deserve a year like this.”
Oregon doesn’t have any major fires right now, Pettinger said. The lightning storm Thursday evening started 30 to 50 fires on the south end of the Willamette Valley, but none caused any problems. The Sweet Home Unit had one fire from a lightning strike on ODF-protected lands. The ODF also assisted on a couple nearby strikes on the Sweet Home Ranger District.
Tthe Sweet Home Unit, which protects the lands outside the city limits, including private forestland and Bureau of Land Management forests, has received 60 calls so far this season.
Of those, nine were considered “stat” fires, below average, Pettinger said. Stat fires are those where firefighters must take substantial action.
Fire Chief Dave Barringer said the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District did not respond to any lightning-caused fires during the storms.