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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 2020)
Appeal Tribune | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 1B OUTDOORS Gold Butte Lookout survives wildfires Gold Butte Lookout looks out on Mount Jefferson. It survived the Oregon wildfires. ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Things did not look good for Gold Butte Lookout. The historic structure perched in the mountains above Detroit was in the path of two of Oregon’s most destruc- tive wildfires as they roared across 400,000 acres during the Labor Day blowup. The Beachie Creek and Lionshead fires impacted just about every town, mountain and patch of forest from Mount Jefferson to Opal Creek to the Santiam Canyon. But by some twist of fate, flames never reached the lookout, originally built in 1934 and a popular place to spend a night. “It was actually surrounded on four sides by fire,” said Don Allen, president of the Sand Mountain Society, who was doing repairs on the lookout Labor Day weekend and had to make a quick es- cape. “It was lucky with the way the wind changed. It ended up being right in the center of an island of green.” Bolan Mountain Lookout doesn’t surrive Not every lookout was so lucky. Southern Oregon’s Bolan Mountain Lookout, located south of Grants Pass, was burned to the ground by the Slater Fire near the Oregon-California state line. Gold Butte and Bolan Mountain were two of the roughly 18 decommissioned lookouts that have been turned into wildly popular rentals for the public. Bolan featured spectacular views stretching from the Pacific Ocean to Mount Shasta, while showcasing the rugged Klamath-Siskiyiou Mountains, one of the most unique geologic regions on earth from its 6,242-foot perch. A new toilet had just been installed when the 156,688-acre fire burned it. An active lookout, Scott Mountain Lookout, was burned by the Archie Creek Fire outside Roseburg. A number of other lookouts had close calls, includ- ing Cinnamon Butte and Bull of the Woods, reported Cheryl Hill, author of “Fire Lookouts of Oregon.” Escape from Gold Butte Lookout Gold Butte has a long history. Origi- nally built in 1934, it was active during World War II as a site where a husband See WILDFIRES, Page 2B A crew from the Sand Mountain Society install new shutters on Gold Butte Lookout on Labor Day Weekend. PHOTO COURTESY OF DON ALLEN Oregon's 2020 wildfire season set every record for destruction Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Brian Ballou saw the 2020 fire season coming for a long time. “I’ve watched this steady march of increasing fire danger, really since 1970,” said Ballou, a longtime firefighter and retired information officer for the Oregon Department of Forestry. “We were keenly aware of what was happen- ing just to the south, with towns like Paradise getting wiped off the map. We knew it was only a matter of time before it happened here.” Labor Day 2020 was that moment. Severe drought, extreme winds and multiple ignitions fueled the most de- structive wildfires in state history. Almost 1.1 million acres burned dur- ing the 2020 season, the most on record. The cost to fight the fires was also a rec- ord, $609 million and rising. But even more striking was the num- ber of homes lost. From 2015 to 2019, which included some major wildfire years, Oregon lost a combined 93 homes, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. This year, 4,009 homes burned down. Whether ignited by downed power lines or arson, or the explosive spread of active wildfires, flames ripped through a See RECORD, Page 3B The Archie Creek Fire throws up a major smoke column northeast of Roseburg on Sept. 11, 2020. US FOREST SERVICE
