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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2017)
S ERVING THE S ILVERTON A REA S INCE 1880 50 C ENTS ● A U NIQUE E DITION OF THE S TATESMAN J OURNAL V OL . 136, N O . 29 W EDNESDAY , J ULY 5, 2017 SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM Quiet wildfire season likely in state Rangeland could face threat if dry conditions persist ZACH URNESS STATESMAN JOURNAL It was a recipe for disaster. Last weekend, a thunderstorm ar- rived over Oregon on a boiling hot day and proceeded to rake the forest with hundreds of lightning strikes. It might have been the moment mul- tiple large wildfires sparked and spread. Instead, the incident produced a handful of minor fires with little impact. “Fortunately,” said Willamette Na- tional Forest deputy forest supervisor Holly Jewkes, “conditions are still rela- tively wet.” The incident illustrates why officials are projecting a second straight quiet wildfire season in Oregon. Even as wildfires roar across Utah, Arizona and Southern California, Ore- gon has remained free of large blazes de- spite high temperatures and storms like last Sunday’s. “In wet years like this, we typically don’t see major fires until late August, if at all,” said Jessica Gardetto, spokes- woman for the National Interagency Fire Center. “The Northwest is just so wet, and there’s still so much snow in the mountains, that it’s going to take a while to dry out and be fire-prone.” But wet conditions don’t mean Oregon is home free, especially in the state’s rangeland. The same rainfall that saturated Western Oregon forests also allowed Eastern Oregon grasslands to grow a large amount of potential fuel, Gardetto said. “If we get prolonged hot and dry tem- peratures, that could spark some pretty large fires in the rangeland areas,” Gar- See WILDFIRE, Page 3A No injuries reported in Freres Lumber fire Acres burned in Oregon over the years 2016: 219,509 acres (human caused: 970 fires, 159,814 acres burned) 2010: 93,731 2015: 685,809 (human caused: 1,397 fires, 139,483 acres burned) 2007: 648,046 2014: 984,629 2004: 30,018 2013: 350,786 2003: 160,191 2012: 1,256,049 2002: 1,010,952 2009: 100,668 2008: 136,572 2006: 545,870 2005: 155,331 2011: 285,712 Marion County Fair will feature diverse music 80s rockers, country band bring their talents to town BILL POEHLER STATESMAN JOURNAL JUSTIN MUCH/STAYTON MAIL Firefighters from multiple districts responded to a large structure fire in Building No. 4 at Freres Lumber Company, Lyons. ODOT closed Highway 226 near the entry point to the building. Blaze contained to facility’s veneer storage area JUSTIN MUCH STAYTON MAIL A fire struck Freres Lumber Com- pany’s building #4 at its Lyons veneer plant June 26. Lyons Fire Chief Bob Johnson posted on Facebook that the fire would be contained and no injuries were sustained from the fire or ef- forts to combat it. On its Facebook page, Freres post- ed on June 27 that the fire was con- tained to the “Plant 4 veneer storage area and (was) not expected to spread to other facilities.” The company indicated that the fire would continue to burn within the controlled environment. The post added: “Displaced employees will be of- fered temporary positions at other plants. We are confident in our ability to keep our team employed. One of the main ideas being discussed is adding a relief shift to Plant 3, the ply- wood manufacturing plant in Mill City.” The blaze prompted Oregon De- partment of Transportation to close Highway 226 in Lyons June 26 to en- sure firefighters could arrive and get in a position to fight the fire. There have been no reports as yet to the cause of the fire or estimated damages. “We are especially grateful to the first responders,” the Freres state- ment read. “There were many mo- ments of heroism last night. It will take time to thank everyone appro- priately.” Freres issued a statement ex- pressing its gratitude for the salvo of local fire districts responding. In ad- dition to Lyons Rural Fire Protection District, responses came from Gates Rural Fire Protection District, Stay- ton Fire District (including the Meha- ma station), Sublimity Fire District, Marion County Fire District No. 1, Turner Fire District, Jefferson First District, Scio Fire District, Albany Fire Department, Aumsville Rural Fire District, Silverton Fire District and Salem Fire Department. On June 27, in the late afternoon, the company posted that its work- force had “been working all-hands on deck toward extinguishing the fire.” Popular swimming spot has reopened ZACH URNESS STATESMAN JOURNAL North Fork Park, a popular swimming spot on the Little North Santiam River, opened Saturday. The park’s opening was delayed while work crews expanded and paved the parking lot. “North Fork Park is one of our most popular parks in the North Fork corridor and we’re happy to be able to open it for the July 4 weekend with enhanced parking for parkgoers,” Marion County parks coordinator Russ Dilley said There is now a $5 fee to park at North Fork — along with all the county parks in the North Fork cor- ridor, including Bear Creek and Salmon Falls. Visitors will also find fees to park along North Fork Road. Visitors can purchase a $30 an- nual parking passes from Marion County Public Works. Online at SilvertonAppeal.com NEWS UPDATES PHOTOS » Breaking news » Get updates from the Silverton area » Photo galleries STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE The popular swimming spot North Fork Park reopened Saturday. INSIDE Classifieds..............................3B Life..........................................4A Obituaries.............................2A Sports......................................1B ©2017 Printed on recycled paper Performances by Night Ranger and Diamond Rio highlight the Main Stage at this year’s Marion County Fair, which returns Thursday through Sun- day. Night Ranger, the multi-platinum ‘80s hard-rock band best known for its 1984 power ballad “Sister Christian,” will play at 8:30 p.m. Friday. Diamond Rio, the multi-time Gram- my-nominated country band that hit big in the 1990s with songs like “Meet In The Middle,” will play at 8:30 p.m. Sat- urday. Admission to the concerts is includ- ed with admission to the fair, which is $5 to $9. Among the attractions at the fair are the 4H-FFA Barns, the All Alaskan Rac- ing Pigs, pedal pushers (child pedaled tractor pullers), barnyard adventures, flyball dogs and a petting zoo. There also will be a rough stock ro- deo at 6 p.m. July 8 including bull rid- ing, barrel racing and saddle bronc rid- ing. Admission is free with fair admis- sion. On Friday and Saturday, there will be a series of live science demonstra- tions titled “STEAM.” “Awesome Eclipse Adventures” (technology) will take place at 10:30 a.m., “Rootopia’s Natural Paintbrush” (art) will take place at noon, “The Sci- ence of Sport” (mathematics) will be at 1:30 p.m., “Fizz Whizz” (chemistry) will be at 3 p.m. and “Build a Boat” (engi- neering) will conclude the series at 4:30 p.m. STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE Colorful carnival rides are seen on the first day of the Marion County Fair in 2015. The fair returns Thursday through Sunday.