Wednesday, August 30, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
27
HOWELLS
REALTY GROUP
MILLI FIRE: Area
burned in variety
of intensity levels
Continued from page 1
lasting from Wednesday after-
noon, August 16 through
Friday, August 18, when the
fire forced several residential
areas to evacuate.
Along the west side of Pole
Creek Road (Forest Road 15),
there was substantial scorched
earth, partly from burnout
operations that tried to stop
the storming advance of the
main blaze.
“I see a lot of mortality
and a lot of scorching all the
way to the tops of trees,” Reed
said, surveying the west side
of the roadway.
Such hard-hit areas will
likely be replanted. Hazardous
snags along roadways will
be felled. While the Forest
Service will likely attempt to
plan for salvage logging, such
plans are often held up in liti-
gation until the trees lose their
value. Most of the dead trees
will eventually fall.
On the east side of the
roadway, in an area that had
been treated with prescribed
fire, the fire burned with
much lower intensity when
it jumped the road, burning
PEAK PROPERTIES team
Black Butte Ranch, Sisters Area
and Central Oregon
Phil Arends
realestateinsisters.com
541-420-9997
220 S. Ash St., Sisters
phil@blackbutte.com
PHOTO BY CEILI CORNELIUS
Some areas were very hard hit.
along the surface, consuming
pine needles and underbrush,
but leaving most trees only
lightly scorched. Such fire
is actually beneficial to the
forest.
What creates high-intensity
fire with high levels of mortal-
ity “just depends on a lot of
environmental factors,” Reed
explained.
Fuel load is one of them. If
trees are close together, a fire-
storm can race quickly from
tree to tree. And weather con-
ditions — hot, dry and windy
— were primed for the fire
to make a run on those mid-
August days.
“It came around Trout
Creek Butte,” Reed said. “It
came through here as a crown
fire (up in the crowns of trees,
moving tree to tree) with a
PHOTO BY CEILI CORNELIUS
The Milli Fire burned some swaths of terrain severely, while others were
lightly touched or left intact.
CUSTOM HOMES • RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PROJECTS
John P. Pierce
541-549-9764
CCB# 159020 CCB# 16891
Becke W. P ierce
Arne J. P ierce
General Contracting LLC
541-647-0384
General Contracting LLC
541-668-0883
CCB# 190689
CCB# 208020
Serving the Sisters Area Since 1976
Strictly Quality
lot of steam behind it. It was
really hot on the south side of
the butte.”
The fire wasn’t like that
everywhere. Viewed from the
Whychus Overlook off Road
16 (Three Creek Road), an
observer can see where fin-
gers of fire reached out to the
east. Some strips of terrain
are heavily burned; others are
relatively untouched. Along
Road 16 are swaths of dull red,
where retardant was dropped
to try to give firefighters on
the ground time to build lines
to stop the fire’s advance.
L u c k i l y, t h e f i r e
approached Whychus Creek
Canyon late in the day on
Friday, August 18, as tempera-
tures cooled and winds started
to die down. The fire reached
tendrils into the canyon, but
burning there was minimal,
and subsequently firefighters
were able to head off the fire
from further travel toward the
east.
It was a near-run thing.
“We were saved by the
time of day,” Reed said.
“That’s it.”
That’s good news to people
who hike the Whychus Trail
or enjoy looking down on the
creek from the overlook. They
will look out on a landscape
marked by nearly 20 years of
big fires — but one that is far
from being destroyed.
Dick Howells
541-408-6818
rahowells@blackbutte.com
— BLACK BUTTE RANCH—
Make this your family
retreat at Black Butte
Ranch. There are 4 bedrooms
(2 masters), 3.5 baths, great-
room, family room, woodstove to
keep you warm, and large decks
to enjoy the privacy that is yours
since this property adjoins public
lands. Walk or bike to the Glaze
Meadow recreation complex. $595,000. MLS#201704512
Just a short walk or bike to
the Glaze Rec center, bordering
a beautiful aspen grove and
common area, this home fea-
tures an updated kitchen open
to the greatroom, fl oor-to-ceiling
brick fi replace with insert, 5
bedrooms, 3 baths, huge fam-
ily/media room. Incredible value
$725,000. MLS#201706015
Opportunity is knocking!
Executive-level home at Black
Butte Ranch. Home features
3 master suites, offi ce/den,
greatroom, family room, formal
dining room, large kitchen with
dining area, 2 wood-burning
fi replaces, large utility, 3-car
garage. Huge deck with hot
tub, bordering forest land. Priced well below current market
pricing.$799,750. MLS#201703591
Beautiful home on GM golf
course. Open fl oor plan and
remodeled. 4 bedrooms, 4.5
baths,chefs kitchen with granite
countertops, greatroom, living
room,offi ce/den,dining room,
hot tub. Updates include fresh
int./ext. paint, refi nished hard-
wood fl oors, re-stained decks,
new garage door and opener, heat pump,water heater and drive-
way resurfacing. $1,275,000. MLS#201601177
Tucked away in a very quiet
section of Black Butte Ranch,
is this 4,130 sq. ft. completely
remodeled home. Five bedrooms
(3 master suites),4 baths, great
room, family room, 4 fi replaces,
gourmet kitchen with stainless
appliances and granite counter-
tops, whole-house music system,
central vac, and so much more. $1,445,000. MLS#201705727
— SISTERS —
Wonderful home in Squaw
Creek Canyon Estates. On a
corner lot, this home has it all:
almost 1 acre, fully fenced,
landscaped and irrigation, huge
greenhouse, 3 bedrooms, 2.5
baths, living room, family room,
dining, riverrock fi replace with
insert, pellet stove, heat pump,
wrap-around covered porch. Large 2-car garage with shop area.
$460,000. MLS#201704257
Fantastic property in the
heart of Sisters! Corner lot,
Craftsman home, features
include 3 bedrooms (master w/
ensuite), 3 baths, large kitchen
with granite counters and SS
appliances, open to greatroom,
propane fi replace, hardwood
fl oors, offi ce/media room, utility
and so much more. $535,000. MLS#201708692
Quality Craftsman home
in ponderosa forest; only steps
from town and trail system.
Main level: Entertainers de-
light: kitchen/dining open to
washed rock patio and private
backyard for indoor/outdoor
living; master bedroom/spa
in bath. Upstairs: sunny living
area with second fi replace and room to ramble. $639,000.
MLS#201700915