S ERVING THE S ILVERTON A REA S INCE 1880
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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
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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.