Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Fire season officially and abruptly ended on Oct. 1, the earliest since 1978, and the burn ban was lifted on Oct. 2.
“That whole week prior to that, they kept talking about all this rain,” Oregon Department of Forestry Forest Protection Supervisor Jim Basting said. Then the Sweet Home area ended up with 2.5 inches of rain over the weekend of Sept. 30 to Oct. 1.
“It was very wet, and it didn’t make sense not to do this,” Basting said.
The fire season was projected to go to Oct. 15 but at the beginning of the season, fire officials expected it to go longer.
The lighter fuels are saturated now, Basting said, but “the heavy fuels, like the big logs, they’re not wet in the center yet.”
“People are starting to burn now, and that’s fine,” Basting said. They still need to call 451-1904 to make sure it’s a burn day before lighting the pile.
Slash burning must still be permitted, Basting said.
“The whole thing just really surprised me,” Basting said of the summer weather. “Last year, we ended on Oct. 26. In the three years preceding 2006, the end of fire season came on Oct. 7, Oct. 16 and Oct. 8.
Fire season ended on Oct. 3 in 1981, Basting said. In 1978 it ended on Sept. 14, and in 1977 it ended on Sept. 30.
It may not happen this year, Basting said, but in October, the weather can become warm and sunny following the first rains. With it comes wind that can rekindle backyard debris fires that might still be smoldering.
If those conditions occur, he urges people to make sure to check their burn piles.
The light fuels, particularly on southern exposures, could dry out again if the weather dries, he said. The north exposures are probably done this year.
The largest fire this year was a 10-acre grass fire in the Pleasant Valley area, Basting said. “We have had really nothing (else) even close to that.”
The rest of the fires this year have been a half-acre or less, he said. Since July 1, the Oregon Department of Forestry Sweet Home Unit responded to 114 or 115 calls. Thirty of those were actual fires. The rest were campfires or reports of smoke odor.
September was busy for firefighters, who responded to 15 fire violations and issued 14 warnings and one citation, Basting said.
“We’ve had a good year, and everybody’s pretty much gone except for three guys,” Basting said, and the Green Peter lookout is closed and shuttered.