FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2015
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion / Local
— Editorial —
New norm?
We don’t
think so.
The past two weeks have been an
emotional roller coaster for us, as for most
Baker County residents—and for resi-
dents all across eastern Oregon. Two out
of the three generations that make up our
editorial board were under evacuation no-
tices—one with the Cornet fire physically
at the top of her driveway, another with
the Windy Ridge just over the Burnt River
Canyon wall from their home, a fifth
wheel loaded with irreplaceable items,
ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
Our Facebook feed became a primary
source of information for those worried
and seeking wildfire information. We had
a reach of 200,000 people during that
week. Emails, calls and private messages
came in by the hundreds. In some cases,
we were unable to learn for at least 24
hours if those we knew personally had es-
caped safely and with their homes intact.
With resources stretched, no one had the
answers.
When the answers began to come, we
went from worry and anxiety, to gratitude
and then more worry for the firefighter
who arrived to protect our homes and
land. We thought of the private landown-
ers who fought on their own to protect
their family ranches and timber, and wor-
ried about them, too.
But then, as the immediate threat began
to subside, the anger came, particularly af-
ter the oft-repeated statement from USFS
Chief Tom Tidwell and other higher ups in
that agency that extreme fires are the “new
norm” and we needed to prepare for and
accept the fact.
Well, no. No, we don’t.
Imagine the reaction if a Board of Direc-
tors of a private corporation failed so
miserably in their duties that the company
teetered near bankruptcy. Imagine the re-
action if the shareholders were told, “Hey,
it’s the new norm!”
Catastrophic wildfires don t need to hap-
pen to the degree we’re seeing.
“We cannot solve our problems with the
same thinking we used when we created
them.” This quote from Albert Einstein
has been in our minds.
For decades the management of public
lands by federal agencies in the western
United States has been the accepted line
of thought. That thinking has created the
federal policies that have, in turn, created
one horrific, mismanaged fuel load.
We are clearly dealing with a failed sys-
tem that has resulted in severe economic
loss, and yet we’re expected to trust the
very people who created the problem to
address and solve it, using the same big-
government line of thinking as always?
We attended many of the town hall
meetings held across our county over the
past two weeks, and while there was ap-
plause and gratitude for local emergency
management and of course for the fir -
fighters, OD , and in some cases locally
based federal employees, that attitude
absolutely did not extend to the upper ech-
elon of the USFS, the BLM or their poli-
cies for the forests. We heard more voices
than we can count sitting around us in
these audiences discussing the poor state
of the public forests near their homes.
“We can’t even walk through that for-
est,” one couple told us of the area now
burning in the Eagle Complex. “The fallen
timber is so heavy, you can’t walk. You
can’t ride a horse through there. You can’t
get an ATV through it. It’s a firetrap.
We ran an article back in February about
the beetle kill across Dooley Mountain,
and the lack of logging creating a fuel
overload through that forest. A local
forestry expert warned of a catastrophic
fire in that area, based on those conditions.
Ironically, the Cornet Fire began near
where that forester took our reporter so
that he could photograph the state of the
forest there.
These conditions, combined with the
right heat, wind and drought, created the
perfect storm of wildfires we’re seeing
now. Federal policies literally added fuel
to the fire. In addition, policies that have
resulted in road closures have made the
fires even more difficult and expensive t
fight, as crews worked to bust down the
berms over roads so that they could even
access the areas engulfed.
The public has been screaming for years
against road closures and for the proper
care of our forests in the form of logging.
Those cries have fallen on deaf ears, or on
ears that practice selective hearing only
when the threat of lawsuits by environ-
mental groups are concerned. And just
look at the results. Look at the layers
of loss. Homes burned. Ranchers have
lost livestock. Wildlife lost their fall and
winter food supply—and lives. Those who
privately own timber have lost the pos-
sibility of profit as the market now faces a
glut of charred, salvaged wood. Outdoor
enthusiasts who have a habit of coming
to our area to hike, fish, hunt, and camp
will go elsewhere. Who wants to pitch a
tent among rows of blackened toothpicks
and soot? Those with respiratory problems
have fallen ill due to the smoke …
By the time our surrounding forests
heal from the results of federal misman-
agement, two generations of our edito-
rial board will likely be gone. Our third
generation will be elderly.
It’s time we all start considering alterna-
tives to our forest management choices—
but new thinking will be required.
—The Baker County Press Editorial Board
— Letters to the Editor —
Gloria shines at local Veterans
Services
To the Editor:
We have been in contact with Rick Glo-
ria since he was appointed to the position
of Baker County Veteran Services Officer
on many occasions.
The care and treatment we have received
has been efficient, expedient and court -
ous. He calls back with the information
we were waiting for in a timely manner.
When he has information and it is after
working hours he will still call and update
us. He does not waste time in calling
when there is nothing to report. His com-
puter skills are superb.
Baker County is fortunate to have Rick
as an employee. He is extremely knowl-
edgeable in his position, which helps get
the veteran the end result that he is wait-
ing for. He goes out of his way to find the
information that is requested.
Veterans, we are very lucky to have Rick
in our community to help with our needs.
Gene and Patricia Reed
Baker City
Thanks for coverage during fir
To the Editor:
I was a resident for 13 years and have
much loved family who were born and
raised there who remain. I feel so proud of
how you all pull together when adversity
strikes.
I think your paper keeps and continues
to keep everyone up to date on these fires
is fantastic. You are awesome. The dedica-
tion to your readers and community really
is something you should be so proud of!
Thank you for being amazing. Kudos!
Patricia Butler
Eureka, California
Broad tax reform needed
To the Editor:
I feel fortunate to live in a part of Oregon
that allows my family and me to enjoy all
of the resources, beauty and quality of life
that our state can offer.
Naturally, living in such an area doesn’t
come without its challenges. Our commu-
nity relies heavily on agriculture and tour-
ism for jobs and economic growth. These
are industries that have historically been
very susceptible to outside forces.
The current talk in Washington about
raising taxes on the energy industry could
have a very negative impact on businesses
like these.
As a small-business owner, I understand
just how important the overall public poli-
cy and economic climate are to the success
of any business. But it’s not just local busi-
nesses that would be at risk with higher
energy taxes.
Many Central Oregonians drive consid-
erable distances for everyday needs like
groceries and health care services. That
would become more expensive if the en-
ergy industry pays higher taxes that then
get passed on to consumers — as they al-
ways do.
Instead of singling out one industry for a
targeted tax increase, we should be looking
at broad-based tax reform that closes loop-
holes and cleans up a tax code that hasn’t
had a serious house-cleaning since 1986.
If Washington politicians continue to in-
sist on rigging the tax code rather than re-
forming it, we will be in for a world of hurt
here in Oregon. However, if we make taxes
fairer and simpler, we can spur economic
growth and job creation. That’s what we
need.
Ken Taylor
Prineville
Eagle Complex fire
takes DuMars cabin
Carmelita Holland / The Baker County Press
Firefighters Mike, Jessica and Mike found a hot spot over their lunch break
just right for cooking burritos.
BY CARMELITA HOLLAND
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Fire crews continue to
battle the Eagle Complex
fire, with only 7% contai -
ment this week.
Forshey Spike Camp
station on Forshey Mead-
ows at the forest boundary
about fifteen miles north
of Richland saw one-man
tents clustered on each side
and back into the timber,
with heavy machinery
parked near the Eagle
Creek road waiting to be
put into service. Two heli-
copters have been working
out of the area.
"We have 204 fire fig -
ers here working in twenty
person hand crews," said
Martin Apachito, from
New Mexico, in charge of
the spike camp. "The main
fire station is on the hig -
way (203) between Medi-
cal Springs and Catherine
Creek Summit."
The Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest has a main
system road, number 77,
extending from Catherine
Creek Summit, to and
down West Eagle Creek
to the Tamarac Park area,
where three lightning
strikes ignited the Eagle
Complex Fire on August
10. Road 77 continues
down main Eagle Creek,
at the foot of four canyons
with fires still burning in
them, to the mouth of East
Eagle, where the same
fire is burning in Sullivan
Creek and expected to
spread into the headwa-
ters of Little Eagle Creek,
endangering the lives of
hundreds of head of graz-
ing permittee cattle.
At cabin number ten,
belonging to Carmelita
Holland, tubs of water
are being used to combat
blazes still rising on Au-
gust 25.
Over the weekend, three
members of a crew from
Joseph, Oregon— "Mike,
Jessica and Mike"—who
are assigned to stay in the
area and dig a wide fire
trail around the Holland
cabin where flames are
popping up by the dozens
everywhere, chose one
flaming hot spot to toast
burritos for lunch.
"The trick," said Mike
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number one, "is to guess
how long to leave your
burrito in the hot spot be-
fore you lose it." The burri-
tos are heavily wrapped in
tin foil.
Sadly, the cabin be-
longing to Pam and Bob
DuMars burned on Friday,
August 21.
Forest Service Assistant
Fire Manager Officer Tom
Strietzel from Michigan
said, "The hillside above
the DuMars cabin became
a flaming tinderbox and
burning wood came rolling
down the steep hillside into
the side of the cabin. There
was no room around the
cabin to work."
There is actually no
cabin in East Eagle Creek
safe at this time with wild
fires north, south, east and
west of them.
There will be a report
next week from Mike
Lattin who, with his Eagle
Telephone Crew have been
fighting fire continual .
The last word from
Lattin was, "The fire is
spotting ahead a thousand
feet at a time."
YOUR ELECTED
OFFICIALS
President Barack Obama
202.456.1414
202.456.2461 fax
Whitehouse.gov/contact
US Sen. Jeff Merkley
503.326.3386
503.326.2900 fax
Merkley.Senate.gov
US Sen. Ron Wyden
541.962.7691
Wyden.Senate.gov
US Rep. Greg Walden
541.624.2400
541.624.2402 fax
Walden.House.gov
Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown
503.378.3111
Governor.Oregon.gov
State Rep. Cliff Bentz
503.986.1460
State Sen. Ted Ferrioli
541.490.6528
Baker County
Commissioners Bill Harvey;
Mark Bennett; Tim Kerns
541.523.8200
541.523.8201