Sean C. Morgan
Last week’s rain soaked small fuels, but fuels are still cured from the summer and won’t take long to dry out, increasing fire danger again.
Forest land under the protection of the Oregon Department of Forestry remained under regulated use last week. The U.S. Forest Service lifted public use restrictions on Willamette National Forest last week after having them in effect for a couple of weeks.
“Right now, yes, it’s wet out,” ODF Sweet Home Unit Forester Kevin Crowell said. “We’re just halfway through our normal historic fire season.”
“It did tone down the fire danger, but it can recover quickly,” Crowell said. “We still have cured fuels. This is just surface water, even after all that rain.”
The largest fuels take around 1,000 hours to dry out. They take about that long to completely saturate. Last week’s rain had little effect on those fuels.
The smaller fuels, twigs and small branches, take about an hour to soak, Crowell said, but they only take an hour to dry out.
A couple days at 90 degrees and higher, the fire danger will be just what it has been.
The industrial precaution level decreased to level one last week, allowing work in the woods all day, with a one-hour fire watch after shut down and requiring fire equipment on landings.
Forest officials anticipate fire danger to bounce right back from last week’s wet weather. For that reason, regulated use restrictions remain in place along with the burn ban.
Bow season started last weekend, Crowell said. He urged bow hunters to check with private companies about access and the Department of Forestry about fire danger issues.
Fire season usually peaks in September and October as east winds bring drier air.
Fire season is “just ramping up” right now, Crowell said.
Regulated use restrictions on private and Bureau of Land Management forests include the following:
— No smoking except in closed vehicles on improved roads or while camped at designated campgrounds.
— No open fires except at posted and designated campgrounds.
— No non-industrial use of chainsaws except as waived by the forester.
— No motorized vehicles off roads, including motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. They are restricted to improved roads except under permit or for use in agricultural work.
— No fireworks, including the use of sparklers, snakes or other spark- or smoke-producing articles containing combustible materials.
— No welding, arc-torch cutting or grinding of metal except as waived by forester.
— Carry one gallon of water or a 2.5-pound fire extinguisher and a shovel with eight-inch blade at least 26 inches long in vehicles.