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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2021)
4 Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon BURNING: Fire plays critical role in forest health Continued from page 1 to do our work,= Bonacker recalled. <We were essen- tially linking those treated units that we already had. We essentially put a U-shaped control line around the south- east and the south end of the fire.= Without those previously treated areas, <we would have had 10 times more work to do,= Bonacker said. Last weekend, Bonacker told The Nugget that the recent burns help complete a treated strip southwest of town, what Bonacker called <a pretty significant barrier. <The completion of that work really makes a tremen- dous difference,= he said. <It gives a place to fight the inevitable [wildfire] from.= Prescribed burning con- sumes fuels on the ground and brush and low limbs that create <ladder fuels= that let fire climb into the crown of trees. A crown fire is a night- mare for firefighters. In treated areas, <you have a fire that stays on the ground and is controllable by the ground troops,= Bonacker said. The mass of smoke from last week9s burns may have looked ominous, but it was indicative of success. <In this country, you don9t get to burn on a northeast wind very often,= Bonacker said. <They were able to take advantage of the wind and get things done.= While it makes citizens nervous to see the Forest Service burning on days with wind, the fires are fully staffed with wildland fire- fighting crews. And wind is actually essential to doing the work effectively, according to Oregon State University Extension Service Regional PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG Smoke effects from last week’s fires were pretty minimal — except for a period on Thursday morning when cold, still air pushed smoke into town. Fire Specialist Ariel Cowan. <You need some wind to help push the fire in the direction you want it to go,= she said. Cowan noted that wind disperses smoke and lifts it out of the tree canopy, where it otherwise might hold in heat that can damage or kill trees. The health of the trees in Sisters9 forests is a key consideration in prescribed burning. Done effectively, Cowan notes, prescribed fire helps build resilience in indi- vidual trees and the forest as a whole. Ponderosa pines, which dominate Sisters9 forests, are adapted to fire. When touched by low inten- sity burning, they actually get stronger. <It9s kind of like an immune boost for the trees,= Cowan said. <It encourages thicker bark growth.= And the thinning of stands reduces competition among trees and allows robust trees to thrive. If fire burns at the low- intensity level that it should under natural conditions, it9s good for soil, too. <Really, there9s a benefi- cial release of nutrients into the soil from combustion of the material on the forest floor that you wouldn9t get from just cutting the trees.= Some local residents who have suffered from the impact of heavy wildfire smoke over the years might prefer that the Forest Service stick to cutting small trees and mow- ing brush. Fire managers are cognizant of smoke impacts and try to burn when they are minimized. Although last week9s smoke mostly stayed out of Sisters, there was a period of a few hours on a cold, still Thursday morning when the smoke settled in 4 and the lungs felt it. Cowan said that mechani- cal thinning is an important component of forest treat- ment 4 but it9s not suffi- cient. In a fire-adapted land- scape, burning is necessary to consume the fuels left on the ground g. Burning for safety and for forest health will be an ongo- ing process. Areas that have been treated need to be re- entered every 10 to 20 years or so to mimic the natural fire regime. <It9s not a one-and-done kind of thing,= Cowan said. <It9s tricky, because we have so many acres to treat.9 Burning continues Wednesday and Friday near Black Pine Springs Campground seven miles south of Sisters. There’s a beneficial release of nutrients into the soil from combustion of the material on the forest floor that you wouldn’t get from just cutting the trees. — Ariel Cowan When you call 911, • Large organic produce selection MINUTES COUNT • Huge organic & natural selection storewide in fi re & life emergencies... VOTE YES ON CLOVERDALE FIRE MEASURE 9-142 This ad paid for by David and Laura Hiller. Local is what we are. Local is who we love. • Meat cut & ground fresh daily • Huge bulk-foods department • All your favorite local brands & items • Only 20 minutes from Sisters Located in the Cascade Village Shopping Center, Bend Open every day, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Isolated shopping hour: 6 to 7 a.m. • Proud to be 100% locally owned & operated
