Alex Paul
Five Sweet Home firefighters got an up close and personal view of the Bear and Booth fire complex burning near Sisters, called out August 20 as part of the statewide conflagration act.
Task force leader Doug Emmert with crew members Guy Smith, Kevin Pettner, Josh Marvin and Dennis Williamson helped protect buildings and other structures for five days, working primarily at night.
“There were eight task forces there when we were,” Emmert said.
In addition to the Sweet Home engine, Albany, Lebanon and Harrisburg also sent engines. Brownsville sent a tender and crew.
“Jefferson county and Deschutes county had already sent crews and we arrived about the same time that crews from Polk, Marion and Benton counties did,” Emmert said. “They had just set up fire camp at Sisters High when we got there.”
It didn’t take long for the Sweet Home firefighters to be put on duty.
“We checked in and they sent us to Suttle Lake to work on the Methodist Camp. The fire hadn’t gotten there yet so the first night we protected the old Santiam Lodge,” Emmert said. “We put a lot of foam on the area. The fire had run through during the day but it was moving so fast, it missed a lot of spots. When the winds changed, it would come back and jump all over.”
The Sweet Home crew worked nights and that created a sleeping problem.
“They had cots set up in camp but it’s really hard to sleep when the sun’s out and there’s so much noise,” Emmert said. “If we got three hours sleep a day we were lucky.”
Firefighters kept the flames away from Camp Tamarack, although they came within 20 feet of the cabins.
“We assisted hot shot crews with back burns on that one,” Emmert said.
One night was spent protecting the lodge and other buildings at HooDoo ski area.
“We foamed the buildings and cleared a lot of brush,” Emmert said. “We didn’t get too far off the road at night because you could hear the snags falling all night long.”
Emmert called the fire, “devastating.”
“This fire won’t be out until we get winter rains or snow,” he said.
Emmert said areas that had been thinned properly survived the fire.
“The fire burned low to the ground and clear out the underbrush but didn’t get into the trees,” he said. “In the other areas, they look like the surface of the moon. It was scary at times.”
Emmert has been on conflagration calls four or five times, but for Josh Marvin, it was his first major wildland fire.
“There were times the flames were 200-300 feet high,” Marvin said.
Emmert added that the burning trees “sounded like fireworks going off.”
“The people of the area were very supportive of us. They would hoot and holler and give us thumbs up signs,” Marvin said.
The fire had a massive impact on business in Sisters, both men said.
“There were times I saw only four or five cars in downtown Sisters,” Emmert said.
Fire update…The B & B Complex near Sisters is 90,824 acres and 77 percent contained. There are 2,013 personnel on the fire. Rainfall on the western side of the fire has assisted in containment, mop-up and rehabilitation. The Western Cascades Type II Team under Incident Commander Dale Gardner has assumed command of the West Booth Fire, the portion of the B & B Complex west of the Cascade Ridge. Fire suppression in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness will minimize the impact on soils and wilderness character. A series of spike camps and pack strings will support the wilderness firefighters. More information is available at http://www.bandbcomplex.com