Justin Townes Earle
hits Sisters page 10
SPRD classes touch
the nature of art page 14
Sisters woman made epic voyages
through Northwest Passage page 24
The Nugget
Vol. XL No. 36
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Smoke chokes up Sisters economy
By Cody Rheault
Correspondent
Many Sisters businesses
approached the profitable
month of August on schedule
to see steady business and
revenue increases. But the
smoke from the Milli Fire
— as well as other surround-
ing wildfires — has obscured
what many predicted to be a
good season.
Of the many businesses
affected by the smoke, the
ones focused on outdoor
recreation have suffered the
most. Rob Malone, director
of golf at the Aspen Lakes
Golf Course, described how
the smoke and air quality has
hurt business.
“People have to decide
whether to play or not,
depending on the smoke and
air quality,” he said. “It’s all
about the time of day.”
In a sport where morn-
ings are sought after for their
cool temperatures and sun-
rise views, the night-time
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
PHOTO BY CODY RHEAULT
Smoke has impacted everything from outdoor recreation to lodging and dining during the heart of Sisters’
busiest time of year.
last year ’s golf season,
inversions have created a smoke has lifted.
Revenue at the Aspen Malone reported. With July
morning tee-time deterrent.
Afternoons have become the Lakes golf course has
See ECONOMY on page 29
best time to play, after the declined 30 percent from
Sisters Folk
Festival
keeps an
eye on
smoke
Usually when people use
the term “smoking” in con-
nection with the Sisters Folk
Festival, they’re talking about
a particularly hot flatpicker or
a set from a lively band like
this year’s encore artist The
East Pointers.
This year, with some-
thing like 500 square miles of
Oregon on fire, the term has
taken on the unpleasant con-
notations of poor air quality
that threaten the character of
the 21st annual event.
As of press time, festival
board and staff were closely
monitoring conditions and
See FOLK FESTIVAL on page 22
Evacuation levels
lowered for residents
Road guards inform and protect
While Sisters Country
continued to live under a pall
of smoke over Labor Day
Weekend, some residents
got a welcome piece of fire-
related news. Level 2 evacu-
ation notices were lowered
to Level 1 Sunday afternoon,
affecting the subdivisions
of Crossroads, Edgington/
R e m u n d a , Wi l d w i n g ,
Peterson Burn Road area,
and along both sides of Three
Creek Lake Road south of
the Brooks Scanlon Logging
Road (FS 4606).
All areas between
Highway 20 and Highway
242 west of the city of
Sisters, which includes the
subdivision of Tollgate and
Black Butte Ranch, remain
under Level 1 notice. This
area does not include the city
As the Milli Fire grew
over the past couple weeks,
so has the number of road
closures. With an increase in
closures comes the need to
provide security, protection,
and information for locals and
visitors. And road guards play
a key role in this process.
A road closure is put in
place when a wildfire poses
a threat to residents. And
it helps prevent them from
accidentally stumbling into
firefighting operations. To
provide protection and safety,
authorities will post people at
key points leading to a haz-
ardous area. Law enforce-
ment, ODOT, county road
department, or U.S. Forest
Service personnel are among
those tasked with guarding
these roads.
Inside...
of Sisters.
Level 1 means that resi-
dents should be aware of fire
conditions in their area and
be prepared for evacuation
should conditions deteriorate.
While it’s hard to tell from
Sisters, firefighters have
made progress on the 22,527-
acre Milli Fire, which is now
60 percent contained. In fact,
much of the smoke inundat-
ing Sisters has been from
other fires; there are dozens
burning across hundreds of
square miles of the Pacific
Northwest.
The east, southeast, and
south flanks of the fire are in
patrol status with firefighters
mopping up any detected heat
to further secure containment
See EVACUATION on page 28
By Cody Rheault
Correspondent
PHOTO BY CODY RHEAULT
Susan Skakel mans her post on Forest Road 15, part of the Milli Fire closure
area.
During Level 3 evacu-
ations, law enforcement is
staffed at roads leading to
neighborhoods, ensuring the
security of people’s evacuated
homes and properties.
The role of a road guard
is one of protection and
informing the public. Often
times, they are a fire man-
agement team’s first level of
interaction with the public,
and a first line of defense
between them and firefighting
See ROAD GUARDS on page 9
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Announcements ................12 Obituaries ....................... 16 Bunkhouse Chronicle ....... 19 Classifieds ..................26-28
Meetings ........................... 3 Movies & Entertainment ....13 Sisters Naturalist ............. 18 Crossword ....................... 25 Real Estate .................28-32