Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
It’s easy for Oregon Department of Forestry fire patrol officers to access the well-used north bank of Green Peter Reservoir. But the south bank is harder to reach.
The south bank has few roads, and large sections have no roads at all. Visitors to Green Peter use boats to reach the south bank for camping.
ODF fire patrols must use the same means to monitor camps and fight fires on the south side of the lake.
The timber on the south bank is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Away from the shore, much of the timberland is managed by Cascade Timber Consulting.
“If you want to make contact with the people that boat camp, this is the best opportunity,” said Carl Lemmer of the fire patrol.
After putting in at Green Peter Dam on Saturday, Lemmer and ODF mechanic Ken Johnston stopped at an elaborate campsite where a fire was burning.
The campers told them about a point upstream where another set of campers had been setting off fireworks the night before. Lemmer and Johnston had already heard a report about the fireworks before setting out.
Lemmer asked the campers to be careful with their fire and enjoy their camping trip before pushing off from shore. Johnston guided the boat to shore at the next point. While tying the boat off, Lemmer approached a campsite above the lake crossing over an area littered with old fireworks. After tying the boat securely, Johnston followed.
The campers there admitted they used fireworks the night before, and they had a campfire burning.
“They swore they’d never do it again in their lives,” Lemmer said, after talking with the campers.
“I think I might have the Sheriff’s Office swing by here, since they’re going to be here tonight,” Lemmer said.
“It looks like it’s probably a popular thing to do,” Johnston said. The remains of the fireworks scattered about the rocks were old, and on the Fourth of July, the lake was covered with fireworks.
Even legal fireworks are prohibited on ODF-protected lands, Lemmer said. In fall 1987, some youngsters set off fireworks on Hufford Ridge, starting a fire. Since then legal fireworks have been banned.
The fire patrol visits the lake a handful of times each season, a different ODF employee usually riding with Johnston, who drives and maintains the boat. The boat is also used to check reports of fires or fight fires when needed. At times, fire patrol officers also ride with Linn County Sheriff’s marine deputies.
The fire patrol’s mission on the lake is to educate the public about fire danger and to check for dangerous fires.
Many people are not tuned into the ODF’s regulated use restrictions, Lemmer said. Sometimes they are unaware about restrictions on campfires, and even more often they are unaware of newer restrictions, such as the requirement to carry a gallon of water and a shovel in vehicles while traveling off paved roads in ODF-protected lands.
Campers often do not even know whose land they are camped on and what rules might apply, Lemmer said. Much of the problem is with campers from outside ODF protection boundaries, from larger cities such as Salem, Eugene or Albany, who are simply unaware of the rules.
While explaining their role on the lake, Johnston saw a group of boaters pulled up on the south bank and getting out of their boats.
“I don’t know if these folks are setting up camp or day use or what,” Johnston said. “Let’s stop and give them a little spiel.”
The people were friendly as Lemmer asked them about their plans. They told him they weren’t planning to camp, and Lemmer told them about the current fire danger, which was at its highest level so far this season.
Bidding them a good day, Lemmer scanned a map of the lake to monitor the boat’s position. Upcoming was the peninsula between the Quartzville and Middle Santiam arms of the lake.
Their patrol area is eight to nine miles long in the lake, Lemmer said. Following roads, it is approximately 13 miles long. The patrol runs from the dam to the head of the lake.
The Quartzville arm provides no good places for boaters to camp, Johnston said. The terrain is too steep, but the Middle Santiam arm’s south bank has plenty of good camping areas, so the patrol typically runs up the Middle Santiam.
The camping is fairly sparse in general on the south bank, Lemmer said.
“The peninsula is a roadless area of four square miles,” Lemmer said. In the past, he said, he has had to hitch rides with boaters to the peninsula to put out abandoned campfires and check smoke reports.
The ODF boat, purchased as surplus some five or six years ago, has given ODF patrols the ability to get to that peninsula.
Sweet Home Unit had to put work into the motor and trailer when it got the boat, Johnston said.
“I’m the mechanic, and I operate the dozer,” Johnston said. That limits how often the boat can go out because fire patrol officers are busy with their regular routes and other firefighters are often out of the area fighting fires elsewhere in Oregon. In the meantime, Johnston must be available to operate the bulldozer in case of fires within the area.
Johnston, 55, has been at his job for 32 years as a year-round employee. He started when the lands were protected by the Linn County Fire Patrol Association. During the winter, he works on maintenance.
“He gets to fix all the things I break during the summer,” Lemmer said.
Lemmer, 37, started when the ODF was called State Forestry and is in his 18th season. Lemmer drives a log truck in the off-season.
Lemmer and Johnston emphasie to campers that they need to make sure they put out their campfires instead of abandoning them. Firefighters often find abandoned campfires and must put them out.
To make sure a campfire is out, campers should pour water on the fire, stir it up and pour more water on the fire, Johnston said. Campers can make sure the fire is out by placing their hand over the ashes and feeling it. If it has heat, the fire isn’t out.
The Sweet Home Unit is under Level III regulated use, which means that using machinery is allowed between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. Non-industrial use of machinery is not permitted at all.
Fires are allowed in designated areas inside fire rings. Smoking is not allowed except in vehicles. All vehicles must carry a fire extinguisher or a shovel and gallon of water.
The rules apply on private timber lands in the Sweet Home area along with Bureau of Land Management lands.
The U.S. Forest Service applies its own restrictions on national forestlands.
Persons should call the ODF at 367-6108 for more information. To contact the Forest Service Sweet Home Ranger District, call 367-5168.