The Record-courier., June 16, 2016, Page 2, Image 2

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i Record-Courier
THURSDAY’JUNE 16,2016
Commission Hears Plans to
Expand Anthony Lake Summer
Activities and Add New
Non-emergency Medical
Transport System
By Emily Braswell
The Baker County Commissioners convened for their regularly
scheduled Commission Session on Wednesday, June 1.
Commissioners opened the meeting with public comment.
Victoria Valenzuela voiced her concerns about the minutes from
the Commission meeting held on May 18, 2016, specific to the
discussion regarding Baker County joining the Coalition of
American Stewards of Liberty (ASL).
Valenzuela’s comments were directed to Commissioner Har­
vey. “Last time, I specifically asked you if inaccurate information
had been provided, and you said yes, that it had. You said no, no
and then yes, because I asked the question three times. I think
that is really important information to be in the minutes, and it’s
not in there.”
Commissioner Harvey stated the minutes were simply an
overview of the content of each meeting. Valenzuela acknowl­
edged the point but stated, “I would like that put in the minutes
simply because I think it’s an issue.”
Commissioner Harvey asked Valenzuela if she would like him
to clarify the topic again, adding, “So that you can understand it?”
Commissioner Harvey clarified his point that the County is one
of 30 members of a Coalition for a very specific purpose; ‘To gain
the information because it was needed it for our comment efforts
for BLM. We were not a member of the Association. I’ve never
said anything about joining their Association.”
After several exchanges between Harvey and Valenzuela,
Commissioner Bennett suggested they postpone approving the
minutes of May 18, until the next Commission meeting. He added,
“And if we’ve left some confusion because of the number of times
we’ve discussed it, then let’s just bring up whatever we said so
then it’s available, and so we can put the matter to rest, because
it was confusing to everyone.”
Commissioner Harvey was adamant that the ASL topic was not
confusing. “No, sir, it was not! I appreciate your effort, but no, it
was not confusing. I spelled it out, three different meetings,
exactly what we were doing so there was no confusion in it, and
I didn’t solicit funds. Through the newspaper story, the funds
came in.”
Commissioners were provided an update regarding medical
transportation options within Baker County. Several months ago,
a medical transport group from North Powder approached the
County requesting the ability to transport non-emergency
patients. Concerns surfaced from both Baker Couhty and Baker
City medical personnel regarding quality of patient care and how
best to ensure that was not jeopardized.
Commissioner Bennett reported that he had met with the
City/County Emergency Management Team and the Med
Transport representative, Chris Arvidson.’An interim plan has
been developed, allowing the new transportation entity to be
included in the existing emergency management system. It will
handle excess, non-emergency transports. The plan ensures that
Med Transport will not be used as an emergency transport within
Baker County. Baker City will continue to field and receive all
requests for non-emergency transports. In the event that Baker
City is unable to take a non-emergency call, it would then be
forwarded to Med Transport.
Commissioner Bennett moved to recognize and designate Med
Transport as an adjunct, interim, non-emergency ambulance
service provider within Baker County. The motion was passed.
Anthony Lakes General Manager, Peter Johnson, reported
another prosperous ski season on the mountain. The mountain
resort saw a 20% increase from previous years in the number of
skier visits. That adds up to approximately 23,000 skiers visiting
the area over the four-month season.
The number of people in hotels also showed an increase. The
approximately 1,000 “heads and beds” numbers via the Lodging
Partners for Anthony Lakes (PAL) program translates to $350,000
in tourism monies spent within Baker County. According to John­
son, this number has increased each year since they started the
PALs program.
See MEETING on page 4
WOODLAND
Continued from page 1
However, it was the two local field trips that
drew a very personal interest for woodland
owners and members of the community.
The Fires of 2015:
A Very Personal Account
On Thursday, approximately 100 people
boarded buses and vans to travel to Brent and
Eileen Gyllenberg’s Beaver Mountain Bison
Ranch, located just above Beaver Creek
Road.
The Gyllenberg’s were center-stage for both
the Windy-Ridge and the Cornet fires., While
participants were awed by the magnificent
view surrounding them, it was immediately
clear just how lucky the family was to still have
a place to call home.
With moments of clear emotion showing,
Eileen Gyllenberg shared the personal journey
experienced by her family as they prepared for
the fire. The crowd, standing around a cement
foundation that was once a shop, was silent as
she told their story.
“The fire started Tuesday morning and by
Tuesday afternoon we were already storing
water,” stated Gyllenberg. “We spent Tuesday
and Wednesday building fire lines with our
CAT, removing items from our home, evacuat­
ing our animals, watering down the haystack
and the house, and just trying to do all that we
could do.”
Shifting winds played a large role in the fire’s
movement. Initially, with temperatures hover­
ing around 90 degrees, 35 mile per hour winds
played havoc with firefighter’s attempts to es­
tablish a line. And while cooler temperatures
were a welcome change, the shift in the winds’
direction later in the week put the Gyllenberg
home in the fire’s direct sights.
As the audience listened, she pointed where
the two fires started, in relationship to their
home. One quickly got the idea what an omi­
nous threat these twin infernos were to the
Gyllenberg family. Unpredictable, strong winds
Initially, with temperatures
hovering around go degrees,
35 mile per hour winds played
havoc with firefighter’s
attempts to establish a line.
made things even more precarious.
They knew fire-fighting crews were already
stretched. “At that moment, we (our family
members) were basically alone. We could look
out and see two giant fire plumes. It was mov­
ing so quickly we had our son and his fiance’
serve as look-outs to make sure we could get
out when we had to.”
On Wednesday, “the kids left the property.”
On Thursday, only Eileen and Brent remained
- along with their 100 head of bison.
“For a moment we thought we could move
the bison down where they might be safe.
However, we could see so many people, and
so many vehicles trying to get out we knew it
would not be safe.”
Some members of the group shook their
heads in shock as she recalled its intensity.
“The fire was so large and had such a speed
you could hear it coming for about three or four
miles.”
Taking a deep breath and a moment to re­
flect, Eileen recounted the moment she knew
they had to leave. “I looked down, and I could
see the fire approaching Beaver Creek Road.
It was not just burning - it was exploding.” It
was time to get out by one of the other two
routes they had available to them.
On Saturday, the family returned, hauling
supplies to fence in the bison. “The ground
was still so hot you could not put anything in
it,” stated Gyllenberg. The 100 bison returned
- one or two at a time - over the next few days.
When all was said and done - 200 acres of
pasture and timber property burned. Their
shop was gone. A snowmobile was reduced to
nothing more than a 1x10 inch pile of metal.
The haystack was a complete loss. Miracu­
lously, their house remained, with only a small
warp on an area of siding.
Fast-forward 10 months:
Restoration
Following a wonderful lunch of bison burgers
(no surprise there) the group hiked several
hundred feet from the home to see the regen­
eration work already underway. The deep
green of the new spring grass and the vibrant
yellow of the numerous wildflowers were in
deep contrast to burned trees and charred
areas of ground.
Since the fire, Eileen has planted 1300 trees
that include a mixture of pine, fir, and larch. Her
experience in a plant nursery prompted her to
not stamp the trees in, but rather give them a
good dose of water, allowing them soak down
into their new home. She created a catchment
area for each and every sapling, ensuring any
future water would be directed to the tree. She
maintains a watering schedule for each tree for
two years. “Nothing in Eastern Oregon dies
from too much water,” chuckled Gyllenberg.
Oddly, hundreds of green needles sprouted
from dozens of badly-scorched trees that might
What you can change at the last
minute won't make a difference.
What can make a difference is
what you do to your property
4-5 years in advance of afire.
otherwise be given up for dead. Mother Nature
was not done here. Gyllenberg said she too,
was surprised that so many of the trees she
thought would not recover were already begin­
ning to show signs of life.
Wildlife has returned. Deer arrived in large
quantities as their food supply was limited.
That situation has evened itself out. Squirrels
and rabbits have found their way back to the
property. So too, have the weeds. “We have
more white-top than ever.” ■
» - «nr
Gyllenberg was optimistic about the idea of
natural regeneration. “Folks might be surprised
how much will regenerate on its own. The soil
is a volcanic ash and there is a really good duff
layer. I guess we will know in a couple of
years.”
When asked by a participant about the shop
and when they might rebuild, she laughed and
said, “I’m a contractor’s wife - that makes me
last on the list.”
A little time, a lot of change
See more on the woodland story on page 8
Follow these tips if you
encounter young
wild animals:
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Never assume an animal is orphaned.
Don’t remove it from the forest, includ­
ing your backyard. Female deer and elk
and other mammals will often leave their young temporarily for safety-
reasons or to feed elsewhere. They will return when it is safe to do so ■
(when people, dogs, or predators are not present).
• Call your local ODFW office, Oregon State Police office, or a local'
licensed wildlife rehabilitation center when: 1) you see an animal that’’
you know is orphaned because you observed the dead parent animal, ’
or 2) the parent hasn’t returned for several hours or even up to a day, ;
or 3) if the animal is clearly inured or in distress.
• Bunnies are rarely orphaned; mother rabbits only visit den sites at dusk
and dawn to feed her young.
• Keep your dog or cat away from young wildlife, especially in the
spring.
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