SALEM, Ore.
— Three Oregon Department of Forestry fire protection districts from the
mid-coast through the southern Willamette Valley to the crest of the Cascades
entered fire season beginning Thursday, June 21. ODF-protected lands covered by the declaration include state,
private, county, and city forestland, as well as Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) forestlands in western Oregon.
The West Oregon, Western Lane and South Cascade districts
protect lands in Benton, Lane, Lincoln, Polk, southern Linn County and a
portion of northwest Douglas County.
An
unusually dry May and early June prompted the declarations.
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| Above; Despite recent showers, much of the southern and central Willamette Valley and surrounding foothills are dry enough to prompt state fire officials to declare fire season started. |
“We’ve received a
couple shots of rain recently, but that doesn’t make up for the dry spring
we’ve experienced this year. The result is that we are a couple weeks ahead of
where we traditionally are regarding fuel moistures and fire conditions in the
forest,” said Western Lane District Forester Link Smith.
Chris Cline
is district forester for ODF’s South Cascade District based in Springfield. He
said fuel moistures in eastern Lane and southern Linn counties are already
similar to what they historically would be for the beginning of July. “We look
carefully at local conditions in determining when to declare the start of fire
season. What they are telling us is that in our district it is now dry enough
for wildfires that do start to have the potential to spread more rapidly.”
As of June
20, more than 200 wildfires were reported on ODF-protected lands throughout Oregon.
These burned just over 200 acres. More than 80% of those fires were caused by
people. In light of those numbers, West Oregon District Forester Mike Totey
said, “Most wildfires at this time of year are triggered by people, so they are
almost entirely preventable with some foresight. An activity that might be low
risk when vegetation is thoroughly soaked and humidity is high could ignite a
wildfire when longer hours of sunlight, warmth and relatively light rainfall
have started drying those fuels out.”
Fire restrictions
in ODF districts vary somewhat. To find out what restrictions are in place at
any given location, go online to ODF’s statewide fire restrictions and closures
page at www.oregon.gov/ODF/Fire/Pages/Restrictions.aspx
or call the ODF office below that is nearest:
Western Lane (Veneta) – 541-935-2222
West Oregon (Philomath) – 541-929-6300 and press
1
South Cascade – (Springfield) – 541-726-3588 and
press 2
Six other ODF districts and
forest protective associations in southern and eastern Oregon have been in fire
season since earlier this month due to warm, dry conditions that have elevated
fire risk.
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