Landowners are important allies in helping stop or slow the spread of wildfire. Many examples could be cited. A recent one is from the Jones Fire in Lane County, where Weyerhaeuser Company resources played an important part in Oregon’s complete and coordinated system of fire protection.
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| Above: The Jones Fire in Lane County is one of several burning on a national forest this summer where private landowners and ODF have partnered with the U.S. Forest Service and others to protect local timber assets and the future economic benefits they represent. |
The Jones Fire was started by lightning on the Willamette National Forest. The blaze has blackened 5,530 acres of steep, heavily timbered terrain about 10 miles east of the community of Lowell. The fire threatens private residences, recreational infrastructure, federal forestland and valuable industrial timberlands.
The Oregon Department of Forestry is engaged in battling the Jones Fire alongside the Willamette National Forest under the coordination of the Northwest Incident Management Team # 10. ODF has provided several personnel to support the incident management team and its operations.
On Aug. 11, 2017 the Jones Fire grew rapidly by over 800 acres, pushing into the sky a towering column of smoke. Weyerhaeuser quickly mobilized several local firefighting resources to work directly with the incident management team. The local resources provided important capacity to immediately support the firefighting operations.
Weyerhaeuser’s forestland lies just a quarter-mile from the primary northern containment line for the Jones Fire. For several days, fire crews have been preparing a strategic firing operation nearby on lands of the Willamette National Forest. To complement those efforts, Weyerhaeuser and personnel from ODF developed a contingency containment line on Weyerhaeuser’s land using roads and ridgelines. Weyerhaeuser put a dozer, two excavators and a feller-buncher to work removing roadside vegetation along the contingency line.
The cooperation on the Jones Fire allows for high-value timber stands and their future economic benefits to be protected. It highlights the importance of the “all-lands, all-hands” approach taken by ODF, Willamette National Forest, Northwest Incident Management Team # 10 and Weyerhaeuser. It is a partnership model that aims to prevent losses to forestland by helping stop the spread of wildfires, regardless of their origin.