Sean C. Morgan
The fire danger level in east Linn County went to extreme Tuesday morning, Aug. 14, around Sweet Home.
Danger levels briefly hit extreme two weeks ago before dropping back to high.
Fire officials were looking forward to cooler temperatures over the weekend, but it didn’t get as cool as forecast, said Neil Miller, Oregon Department of Forestry Sweet Home Unit forest protection supervisor.
Fire danger levels are calculated based on current weather and that over the preceding days, fuel types, and both live and dead fuel moisture.
At extreme, public use restrictions currently prohibit mowing and other activities on ODF-protected lands all day.
The Industrial Fire Precaution is at level III, which requires forest industrial operations to cease by 1 p.m. and follow a list of precautions.
Campfires are banned up the Quartzville Corridor now, Miller said. Campfires are still allowed in Sunnyside Park, but the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has banned fires on dispersed campsites, at the Quartzville Group Camp, Yellow Bottom and Miner’s Meadow.
Fires remain banned at most state parks, including Cascadia. Liquid fuel stoves are allowed as long as they remain attended.
Restrictions remain in place on the Willamette and Deschutes national forests. Campfires are banned except in fire rings at designated campgrounds, which includes all Sweet Home Ranger District campgrounds.
Inside the city limits, restrictions are lighter.
Fire Chief Dave Barringer said that mowing is allowed all day long. Residents can cook on a cook fire, and campfires are allowed in a fire pit on concrete or rock pit on a green yard.
“Your brown yard should not have a fire put on it,” Barringer said.
Elsewhere, on ODF-protected lands, Cascade Timber Consulting has closed to the public because of extreme fire danger. That includes walk-ins. CTC will re-evaluate as conditions warrant.
Miller said that officials expect the danger to go back up to extreme this week. Friday afternoon, Aug. 10, the energy release component measurement was 50. When it reaches 55, the fire danger is considered extreme.
“No relief in sight,” Miller said. “We may see a few days of rain.”
But he’ll believe that when he sees it, he added.
A light drizzle fell for about 10 minutes Saturday morning at Whitcomb Creek Campground, but it was light and temporary, a park employee said.
With recent cloud cover and lower temperatures, relative humidity increased over night a couple of days, Miller said, but with temperatures reaching into the 90s, the energy release component will likely increase, which is what pushed the South Cascades District to “extreme.”
Miller said thunderstorms are expected east of the Cascades this week, continuing through the weekend.
Fire call loads have been light so far this year, Miller said. Sweet Home Unit has had 31 runs. Of those seven have been considered stat fires, which means firefighters took significant action in response. Total, fires have burned less than a quarter acre so far in the Sweet Home Unit.
The majority of the responses have been to calls from neighbors worried about things like weed-eating or use of chainsaws, Miller said.
The public has been aware of fire danger and remained extremely cautious, Miller said. He urges the public to remain so even if it rains.
It likely won’t be until late October that the rain drenches the area that the fire danger will decrease, he said. It takes inches of rain over several days to soak the fuels.
While fire activity has been low in the Sweet Home area, the Sweet Home Unit had five firefighters on the road with an engine last week, Miller said. This week, two remain out with an engine on the Miles Fire, part of the Umpqua Complex. He expects them to return on Thursday.
Anyone who sees a column of smoke is urged to call the Sweet Home Unit at (541) 367-6108.