Sean C. Morgan
Fire danger increased to extreme Monday, July 23, and the Oregon Department of Forestry Sweet Home Unit increased the Industrial Fire Precaution Level to III, placing the highest restrictions on industrial activities.
The Sweet Home Unit went to a high danger level and Precaution Level II about three weeks ago.
“We’re still what I would say is several weeks ahead of where the calendar says we should be,” said Unit Forester Craig Pettinger, noting that this is one of the earliest Level III designations he has seen.
Conditions are dry, he said, and no rain is in sight.
The bright side is there are no lightning storms in sight either, Pettinger said.
Fire officials are seeing a wide variety of predictions for August, Pettinger said. Temperatures are expected to be seasonal, in the 80s, but no one is willing to predict moisture levels.
The Sweet Home Unit has received 13 fire calls, Pettinger said. Of those, three are considered “stat fires,” which require a significant response by firefighters. All were small.
They include a fire on July 18 on Fern Ridge, caused by a mechanical failure on a baler. A privately owned fire truck was on the scene. On July 12, a spark from a welder started a small fire on Crawfordsville Drive. Firefighters also responded to a small fire on Pleasant Valley on July 1.
Sweet Home Unit personnel also responded, with Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District firefighters, to a fire reported at 11:42 a.m. on Tuesday, July 17 below Foster Dam Road.
So far, fires have burned a total of .15 acres on rural lands around Sweet Home.
Gov. Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act Saturday morning in response to the Garner Complex Fire, which is burning an area of approximately 10 square miles in Josephine and Jackson counties in southwestern Oregon. Brown’s action allowed state officials to mobilize additional firefighters to battle the combination of blazes.
Also in Oregon, the largest fire has reached nearly 80,000-acre Substation Fire near The Dalles, Pettinger said.
That fire was considered 92 percent contained Monday afternoon.
On the other half of the South Cascades District, East Lane Unit, has had two larger fires, one reaching nine acres, Pettinger said.
Hot and dry conditions are expected to continue in the Cascades, keeping firefighting resources responding to an increasing number of wildfires.
Of the 62 large, active fires burning in the United States, 10 are burning in Oregon.
While regulated use is in effect on ODF-protected lands, the state has banned campfires in its campgrounds, including Cascadia State Park, and the U.S. Forest Service Willamette National Forest has banned fires outside of developed campgrounds, which locally are Fernview, House Rock, Long Bow, Lost Prairie, Trout Creek and Yukwah campgrounds.
The ban on campfires and open flames in state parks took effect on July 20 in response to Gov. Brown’s declaration of a fire emergency. The ban applies to wood, charcoal and other flame sources that cannot be turned off with a valve.
Cooking devices that can be turned off with a valve may not be left unattended.
M.G. Devereux, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department deputy director, said the ban is meant to avoid any accidental fires on OPRD property that would further tax limited firefighting resources.
“We understand this is an inconvenience for campers, especially those who might not see the immediate need for local fire restrictions,” said Devereux. “We appreciate the public’s patience and their willingness to help protect our natural areas.”
The fire ban was expected to last at least one week, but will be evaluated based on weather, resource conditions and input from Oregon Department of Forestry and other state and local fire officials.
Visitors planning a trip to a state park should check for up-to-date information about fire restrictions below or by calling the state parks info line at (800) 551-6949.
The increasing national need for firefighting resources and hot, dry conditions on the Willamette National Forest are causing federal fire managers to ban campfires outside of developed campgrounds, use of chainsaws, and smoking outside of vehicles. This includes a ban on the use of charcoal briquettes.
Similar to regulated use on ODF-protected lands, campfires are allowed in metal or concrete fire rings in the developed campgrounds. Camp stoves that run on propane or liquid fuels and can be turned on/off are acceptable. Generators are permitted only in areas devoid of vegetation, such as a developed campsite, or in enclosed buildings. Motorized vehicles may operate only on designated trails and roads. Santiam and Huckleberry OHV areas remain open.
In six high-elevation wilderness areas – Mount Jefferson, Opal Creek, Mount Washington, Three Sisters – Waldo Lake and Diamond Peak, where it tends to be cooler and the fuels wetter, visitors may still have campfires. However, in two lower elevation wilderness areas (Middle Santiam and Menagerie), due to warmer temperatures and drier fuels, campfires are banned.
“We never place restrictions without careful consideration,” stated Forest Supervisor Tracy Beck. “But considering the current fire situation, fuel moisture, and predicted weather this decision helps our firefighters remain available, rested, and safe.
“Every year lightning-caused fires place heavy demand on resources, and put our forests, our firefighters, and our communities at risk. Fires caused through carelessness or negligence increase the threat to life and livelihood. Thanks for doing your part to help.”
Currently on Bureau of Land Management sites, which include some in the Quartzville area, people are allowed to have campfires if they are inside metal or rock rings at designated campgrounds.
For fire information, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/willamette/ and follow Willamette National Forest on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/willamettenf/, and Twitter, https://twitter.com/willametteNF.
“We’ve been lucky so far,” Pettinger said. Folks need to stay vigilant.”