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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2015)
8 Wednesday,December30,2015The Nugget Newspaper,Sisters,Oregon Measuring fire season in gallons So, just how severe was Oregon’s wildfire season thissummer?About838,000 gallons’ worth, according to Neal Laugle, the Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF)aviationunitmanager. That’s how much liquid retardantthedepartment’sair tankers dumped on fires in 2015.Andthatfiguredoesn’t includethethousandsofgal- lonsofstraightwaterdropped by ODF contracted helicop- tersinclosesupportofground firefightingforces. The window of opportu- nity in which to stop a new blazefromgrowinglargehas shrunk from days to hours, due to the extreme summer weatherandforestfuelcon- ditions. Fire managers with ODFandthefireassociations increasinglyrelyonairpower toeventheodds,launchingair andgroundresourcessimul- taneously,whichoftenshaves responsetimetominutes. ODF’s contracted large air tanker can reach a fire quicklyanddeliver3,000gal- lons of retardant in a single load.Thisslowsfiregrowth andbuystimeforfireengines andhandcrewstoarriveon sceneandbegindirectattack. Single-engine air tankers (SEATs)usetheirspeedand maneuverability to box in a fire with multiple, smaller retardantdrops.Alltold,air tankers logged more than 700 flight hours this sum- mer. The agency’s helicop- tersputin834hoursslinging watertohotspotswiththeir cable-suspendedbuckets. Thissummer,mostofthe aerialfirefightingtookplace eastoftheCascades(86per- cent), followed by southern Oregon (14 percent), and northwestern Oregon (less thanonepercent). In 2015, the Douglas ForestProtectiveAssociation in Douglas County flew 60 helicoptermissionsandalso assisted ODF’s Southwest Oregon District and the WillametteNationalForest.A smallplaneflew55missions that included fire detection, monitoringofexistingfires, andguidingairoperations(air tankersandhelicopters)over fires. T h e d e p a r t m e n t ’ s Southwest Oregon District (JacksonandJosephinecoun- ties)conducted150missions, includingairtankerandheli- copter flights. Helicopters performed air attack, helit- ack(insertionoffirefighters at fires, along with making waterdrops)andtransportof personnelandcargo. Coos Forest Protective Associationlogged55flight hourson19differentfiresin CoosandDouglascountiesto quenchtheflameswithwater drops.Inaddition,CFPAair- craftflewreconnaissancedur- inglightningeventstodetect newfires. ODF’s aggressive fire- fightingtacticscancreatean “airshow”ofmultipletankers andhelicoptersoveranactive fire.Whenthemeterisrun- ningonalltheseaircraft,costs Gordon’s Last Touch Cleaning Specialists For… 541-549-3008 Carpets • Upholstery Windows Accepting VISA & MasterCard! Snow Removal! Member of the Better Business Bureau Serving Central Oregon Since 1980 Bonded & Insured Our New Year’s Commitment to Health & Beauty FREE BLEACHING FOR LIFE! With new patient exam and x-rays. Call for details. Age 18 and older Exceptional Health, Prevention & Aesthetics Ben Crockett, D.D.S. p 541-549-9486 f 541-549-9110 410 E. Cascade Ave. • P.O. Box 1027 • Sisters, Oregon 97759 Hours: Mon., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Tues.-Wed., 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thurs., 7 a.m.-3 p.m. mountquickly.Butstopping evenonehigh-potentialblaze fromspreadingtothousands ofacrescansavemillionsof dollarsinthelongterm. Damage to the forest resource, which includes timber as well as fish and wildlife habitats, typically totals at least three times the firefighting expense. Asanexample,the26,000- acre Stouts Creek Fire in DouglasCountycost$37mil- liontoextinguish.Andthatis justforsuppression.Damage totheforestresource,which includestimberaswellasfish and wildlife habitats, typi- callytotalsatleastthreetimes thefirefightingexpense. Noonecanaccuratelypre- dicttheintensityoffuturefire seasons.Butthecurrenttrend hasthedepartment,itspartner resourceagencies,andprivate forest landowners scram- bling to meet the challenge. Aviation will undoubtedly continuetoplayamajorrole in Oregon’s fire-protection systemintheyearstocome. photo provided Gingerbread house at aspen Lakes. Follow the Gingerbread Trail till January 5 Takeyourfriendsandfam- ilymembersforawalkonthe Ninth Annual Gingerbread Trail, a benefit for Sisters HabitatforHumanity,while theyarevisitingthisholiday season. This year, 19 businesses created gingerbread houses for the fundraiser. Maps are located at Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, Sisters Habitat ReStore and ThriftStoreaswellasallpar- ticipatingbusinesses. Gingerbread enthusiasts are encouraged to vote for theirfavoritehousebyplac- ing money in the wooden Habitat house bank located neareachsugaredhome.Of coursepeopleareinvitedto voteformorethanonehome. Thegingerbreadcreation with the most money wins thePeople’sChoiceAward.A BestinShowAwardwillbe decidedbythreeindependent judges. Participating busi- nesseswilldisplaytheircre- ationsuntilJanuary5. All proceeds benefit the building program of Sisters HabitatforHumanity. “O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver, the hope of the nations and their Saviour: Come and save us, O Lord our God.” (Magnifi cat Antiphon, Vespers of December 24) Christmas Liturgy Schedule Christmas Eve: 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass 8:00 p.m. Vigil Mass Christmas Day: 10:00 a.m. Mass Solemnity of Mary Mother of God December 31 • Vigil Mass 5:30 p.m. January 1 • Mass at Dawn 10:00 a.m. St. Edward the Martyr Roman Catholic Church 123 Trinity Way, Sisters | 541-549-9391 | www.stedwardsisters.org | Rev. Jude Onogbosele, Pastor
