Sean C. Morgan
A late fire season officially started at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, July 10, and Unit Forester Ed Keith worked his last day with the Oregon Department of Forestry Sweet Home Unit last Friday.
With fire season, the Quartzville Corridor entered into regulated use, and logging operations must begin a fire watch and have water and tools on site.
Fire season usually starts at the beginning of July, Keith said. “Rainfall in June was twice the average. As was glaringly obvious, it was good and wet.”
Fire crews have finished training and are on the job, Keith said. They began working a seven-day schedule at the beginning of last week.
How fire season will shape up around Sweet Home is hard to predict.
“Right now, it’s a guess,” said Acting Unit Forester Craig Pettinger. “It’ll depend on what types of curing we get and when we get it.”
The short-term forecast is “pretty hot,” Keith said. The average weather for July and August is usually hot, so there probably won’t be much more rain until September.
“It’ll take a couple of weeks for the grasses to cure,” Keith said.
“Our wetting rains are in the fall, at this point,” Pettinger said.
Fire danger will likely increase later in July, again depending on weather, Keith said. Then it will depend on whether lightning storms are wet or dry.
The national forest, which is at higher elevations than land protected by the ODF, have no fire restrictions at this point.
“As we will continue to do throughout the summer, we’re certainly encouraging people to keep those fire prevention messages in mind,” said Jennifer Velez, spokeswoman for the Willamette National Forest North Zone, including Detroit and Sweet Home ranger districts. “There are no fire restrictions at this time, but we are continuing to monitor our fuel conditions, and we’re continuing to patrol.”
Regulated use on the Quartzville Corridor includes two main regulations – smoking and campfires. The regulations are in effect for about 27 miles along Quartzville Road from Highway 20.
Smoking is prohibited while traveling except in vehicles on improved roads, in boats on the water and on sand or gravel bars between water and high water marks that are free of vegetation.
Campfires are allowed only inside the metal rings along Quartzville Road.
Other limits include no chainsaws after 1 p.m., no motorized vehicles off road, no fireworks and no welding. ATVs are limited to roads with no grass strips. Vehicles also must carry a gallon of water or 2.5 pound fire extinguisher and a shovel with at least an 8-inch blade.
Keith Departs Sweet Home
“Today’s my last day,” Keith said Friday. “I am going to work for Deschutes County as their county forester.”
He will work in Bend and mainly focus on wildfire mitigation through fuels reduction and prevention education. He will coordinate with the different firefighting agencies.
Keith worked in Sweet Home for more than three years, moving here from Prineville.
“I’ve loved it,” Keith said. “The community’s been great. One of the things here is the super supportive group of landowners.”
Pettinger is protection supervisor at the ODF Lyons office.
“I’m here till they fill the position permanently,” Pettinger said. He anticipates working in Sweet Home through much of the sumer.
Personnel Out of District
The Sweet Home Unit has one person off the district right now, Keith said. Vicki Delong, office coordinator, is working on the Southeastern Montana Complex, which includes four fires. She is handling ordering and management at that fire.
The Detroit and Sweet Home ranger districts have three engines, Velez said. Two of them have been dispatched to other states.
One of them, with three personnel, was assigned to the Weber Fire and has since been assigned to the Arapahoe Fire in Wyoming.
Another engine, with two personnel, is working on the Wolf Den Fire in Utah.
One engine remains in the North Zone, Velez said.
The North Zone also has several personnel working on overhead, including logistics, information and finance, Velez said.