Sean C. Morgan
East winds are expected to keep the Sweet Home area dry this week, and fire officials warn that people need to be careful.
Despite the light rain that fell Monday and cool weather, which often give people a false sense of security abo sut the fire risk of fire, danger levels remain high.
“So far, Labor Day was pretty active for us,” said Chad Calderwood, fire protection supervisor with the Oregon Department of Forestry Sweet Home Unit. “We had several unattended campfires.”
There also were several fires spread by vehicle emissions, he said, and the U.S. Forest Service Sweet Home Ranger District responded to a small fire on the Soda Fork.
Private individuals, the Forest Service and the Sweet Home Unit extinguished that fire, which was caused by an abandoned campfire. It burned one-tenth of an acre.
A two-acre fire on Sept. 3 off Highway 228 west of Holley was the largest so far this season, Calderwood said. It was caused by target shooting.
He added that no one was breaking the law there.
The Sweet Home Unit has had 34 fire runs so far this season, nearly all of them unattended campfires, he said. It also has responded to a handful of illegal debris burns – much fewer than typical.
The Highway 228 fire and the Soda Fork fires are the only fires of significance this season, he said.
Last week, the Sweet Home area had hot, dry east winds with low humidity, he said. The hot weather tapered off over the weekend through Monday, even bringing a little moisture in themorning.
With cooling trends, people begin feeling safe, Calderwood said, but it’s too early.
This week, the ODF is anticipating a substantial east wind and dry weather, which will keep the fire danger high.
As of Friday, the fire danger remained high, just a few points below extreme, he said. The industrial precaution level remained at level II, which prohibits use of power saws, cable yarding, blasting and welding or cutting of metal on work sites between the hours of 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.
“We’re monitoring that closely,” he said.
In the meantime, forests protected by the Sweet Home Unit remain in regulated use. Calderwood said that campfires are allowed only in designated campgrounds. The Sweet Home Ranger District remains outside of regulated use, but people still need to use extreme caution when using a fire.
“Our live fuel moisture is dropping quickly,” he said. Moisture is down critically right now, and this weeks east winds will dry it out more.
Any recovery over the weekend won’t be enough, he said. The values for determining fire risk are already higher than they were for the Canal Creek fire of 2009.
Sunday, it was 72 days since the Sweet Home Unit recorded measurable rainfall.