THE SPOKESMAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 P5
Wildfires: Parts of the region are in extreme drought; snow is melting more quickly than years past
Continued from P1
“Continued drying trends are likely
to persist if we don’t get moisture,”
Zimmerlee said.
The Energy Release Component
index, which is related to how hot a
wildfire can burn, shows that Central
Oregon reached approximately 50 on
Friday, double the average level for
this time of year.
The dry conditions come as West-
ern Oregon is still cleaning up from
devastating Labor Day wildfires that
burned 400,000 acres of land, de-
stroyed more than 700 homes and
killed five people.
While Central Oregon avoided the
direct impacts of the flames, smoke
from the fires in Western Oregon
drifted over the mountains, creating
a pall of unhealthy air that lasted a
week. The dry fuels this year are a rec-
ipe for another big fire incident.
Larry O’Neill, director of Oregon
Climate Services at Oregon State Uni-
versity in Corvallis, said the dry con-
ditions are a disappointment for some
climatologists, who were expecting
more precipitation from the La Nina
effect this winter.
“La Nina didn’t really materialize,
consequently much of the state is in at
least severe drought,” said O’Neill. “We
are already witnessing impacts on ag-
riculture and wildfire risk that we usu-
ally do not see until July or August.”
Parts of Klamath and Lake coun-
River
Continued from P1
“Every Earth Day we do
something special,” said Keyser.
The group has grown in re-
cent years since its founding in
2012 and now conducts a vari-
ety of environmental activities,
including cleanups, graffiti re-
moval, native plant restoration
and trail maintenance. The
group also leads guided hikes
and maintains monarch but-
terfly way stations.
“This year we have moved
our efforts to clean up land that
has been abused by people who
are driving illegally into areas of
public land that have been des-
ignated as nonmotorized,” said
Keyser, a former Oregon deputy
secretary of state. She is retired
and has lived in Crooked River
Ranch since 2000.
“There hasn’t been adequate
education, signage and con-
trol over the creation of illegal
roads,” she adds.
The Earth Day cleanup was
just one phase of a larger ef-
fort to restore Steamboat Rock
back to its natural condition.
For years the area has been de-
graded not just with trash from
illegal dumping and homeless
camps, but also off-highway
vehicles, which tear up the
earth, ruining native grasses
and plants that hold the soil in
place.
The side of the road closer
to the river is designated for
nonmotorized use, but it’s clear
that plenty of vehicles enter the
area. The Friends and Neigh-
bors of the Deschutes Canyon
Area group is working with
the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment to post more signs and
close off roads with fences and
boulders to protect the fragile
ecosystem.
“The major trouble is camps
leaving garbage behind, the il-
legal dumping and the use of
motor vehicles, which is not
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Smoke billows into the air as a prescribed fire burns within the Phil’s Trail area April 15.
ties to the south of Bend are in excep-
tional drought for the first time since
the U.S. Drought Monitor started in
2000. The tri-counties (Deschutes,
Crook, and Jefferson) of Central Ore-
gon are a mix of moderate, severe and
extreme drought.
Central Oregon is also behind in
authorized,” said Nick Weber,
outdoor recreation planner for
the BLM. “Cutting off access to
motorized (vehicles) will be the
key to cleaning this area up.”
That’s important because
just down the hill is a stretch of
Deschutes River designated to
protect it from degradation.
Weber offered some advice to
people who want to keep this
land pristine.
“Take care of these areas.
That is the message on Earth
Day,” said Weber. “Leave no
trace, leave it better than you
found it for future generations.”
Further along the trail, Key-
ser points out abandoned
campfires, trees with limbs cut
off for firewood, and haphaz-
ard roads that cut through the
area. Off in the distance, the
Deschutes River rushes past
with Mount Jefferson forming
snowpack, which does not bode well
for sufficient late-season runoff that
can help cool vegetation and forests.
The snowpack is 84% of normal and
water year-to-date precipitation is just
83% of normal, as of Friday.
Scott Oviatt, the snow survey
supervisor for Natural Resources
a dramatic backdrop.
“This was part of the
(camper) village. It’s all weeds
now,” said Keyser, pointing out
the spoiled land. “The trash
was tossed off the rim, old mat-
tresses, tents. It’s going to take
a long time to get it back, but
you have to start somewhere.”
Nearby, volunteer Susie
Garland, a part-time Crooked
River Ranch resident, was
picking up trash amid the ju-
niper trees with her husband,
Jerry. Tires nearby had been
collected in a pile.
“It’s sad. We used to bike
here, but then we stopped be-
cause it didn’t look good. There
was a lot of garbage, a lot of
dead deer carcasses. It took
away from the experience,” said
Garland. “But it’s already look-
ing better than it looked the
last time.”
Conservation Service Oregon, says
snowmelt is increasing because of un-
seasonably warm temperatures over
the past week. High temperatures
hovered at 60 degrees but hit 80 on
April 18. “Snow is melting out more
rapidly than melt rates observed over
the last several years,” said Oviatt.
The efforts by Friends and
Neighbors of the Deschutes
Canyon Area on Earth Day re-
sulted in dozens of trash bags
hauled away, plus the removal
of larger items, including tires,
a vacuum cleaner, a satellite
dish, a microwave oven, a bar-
becue and wooden palettes.
The volunteers also found a
couch in a cave and buckets
filled with human excrement.
“It’s a shame that people treat
our environment this way,”
said volunteer Mary Zabilski,
a Redmond resident who vol-
unteers every Earth Day. “You
come to enjoy it, but how can
you enjoy it when there is bro-
ken glass everywhere?”
Another volunteer, Da-
vid Dalton, was blunter when
“This will lead to less surface water
and upper level soil moisture being
available in the early summer for use
in irrigation and less available for for-
est vegetation.”
Central Oregon has already seen
increased levels of fire in 2021. The
Oregon Department of Forestry has
responded to eight fires in the tri-coun-
ties this year, compared to an average
of two fires for this time of year.
The Bull Springs Fire, which con-
sumed 211 acres after a strong wind-
storm March 28, has been the largest
blaze to date in Central Oregon this
year. Stock said that wildfire was the
result of dry fuels, high winds and low
live fuel moisture levels.
Other parts of Oregon and Wash-
ington state have also seen early fire
activity. The Ponina Fire in Klamath
County was first reported on April
17 and grew to 1,641 acres before full
containment.
The wild card, of course, is precip-
itation. Rain is expected in Central
Oregon over the weekend but it may
not be enough to soak fuels for long.
If May and June see increased rains,
it could help to reduce the dry condi-
tions from building in the region.
“How fire season goes is dependent
on the amount and timing of rain,”
said Stock. “If we keep getting this dry
pattern, you know, we will definitely
be in high fire danger really early.”
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7818, mkohn@bendbulletin.com
asked how he felt about the
condition of the area.
“Disgusted, angry,” he said.
“It’s not too bad right here, but at
times I have seen huge dumps.”
A nearby sign that warns of
a $100,000 fine and one year in
prison for dumping has largely
been ignored.
Near the end of one of the
trash runs, a truck pulled up
along the side of the road and
out jumped local resident Rob
Windlinx, clad in a flannel
shirt and wide-brimmed hat.
Windlinx, one of the original
founders of the group, had
earlier cleaned out the nearby
cave, emptying it of the couch,
a barbecue, and tires.
“There was a young osprey
watching us. That made it en-
joyable,” said Windlinx. “We’re
bringing back the beauty of
Central Oregon.”
By the end of the day, the
volunteers had loaded up
enough garbage to fill up two
transport trucks, said Jeff
Scheetz, one of the organizers.
For the volunteers who put
in the long hours in the sun,
it was a chance to give back to
their community and restore
lands they and others want to
enjoy while hiking, biking and
horse riding.
“We like to use these lands
and keep them clean,” said
Garland. “We didn’t realize it
was Earth Day, we just wanted
to help clean up.”
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com
A Champion for Student Success
Jill
CUMMINGS
FOR REDMOND SCHOOL BOARD
POSITION 3
As a school board director, I will focus on the most critical
challenges currently facing our youth, families,
community and district.
Joe A Lochner Insurance Agency Inc.
Joe Lochner, Agent
123 SW 5th Street
Redmond, OR 97756
Bus: 541-548-6023
joe.lochner.h5mi@statefarm.com
Fax: (541) 548-6024
State Farm, Bloomington, IL
1211999
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Enrollment
Learning Loss
Academic Integrity
Communication, Advocacy, Transparency & Accountability
• Knowledgeable. I have been in the local banking industry since
2002. I have been through the local housing boom, the great
recession and the pandemic. I have successfully led teams,
managed internal policy, federal and state regulations, produced
exemplary audits and I have advised on multi-million dollar
budgets. I come from a family of entrepreneurs and followed in
their footsteps, having owned my own small business.
• Experience . I grew up in Central Oregon. As a parent, I have
experienced the entire K-12 Redmond School District experience.
My eldest recently graduating early and my youngest is in 8th
grade. I have been involved in the Redmond School District since
2002, as a SMART volunteer and Junior Achievement student
instructor, teaching Financial Literacy to students.
• Commitment to Community. I am deeply passionate about
our youth and community. I act as an Advisory Board Member
for Rimrock Trails Treatment Services, off ering mental health
counseling and substance use treatment services to individuals
and families. I support Family Access Network and am a long-
time table captain for their Redmond annual luncheon. I am a
Redmond Executive Association member. I volunteer for Wake the
World, providing water-sport opportunities to abandoned, abused
and neglected children as well as for the handicapped and our
wounded warriors. I have served on the board and executive
board of the Redmond Chamber of Commerce. I was honored to
be a recipient of the Cascade Business News 2019 Accomplished
Under 40 award.