The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, August 17, 2018, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 2A, Image 2

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    2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2018
More homes being placed in the path of wildfires
Quiet life,
higher risk
By ASHLEY AHEARN
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Chris Hopkins moved to
Pine Forest for the trees. He
was drawn to the hilly, forested
community in Washington’s
Methow Valley, and decided to
build a cabin there in the 1990s,
“before we really knew about
fire danger,” he said.
Then came the Carlton
Complex Fire in 2014, which
burned more than 250,000
acres just down the valley from
Pine Forest. And then the Twisp
River Fire the following year. It
came even closer to Pine For-
est and killed three young fire-
fighters. Chris’s brother lost his
home in the Carlton Complex,
as did more than 300 others.
“We had spent most of the
day clearing brush but it wasn’t
enough,” Hopkins recalled. His
brother and sister-in-law had
lost power and were in their
home with the shades drawn
to stay cool when they heard a
knock on the door. It was some-
one from the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice telling them they needed
to evacuate immediately. “Sure
enough there was a 30-foot
wall of flames heading towards
them,” Hopkins said.
For people like Hopkins and
his brother, whose homes strad-
dle what’s called the “wild-
land-urban interface,” wildfire
risk is the new normal, and the
risk is increasing as more peo-
ple move into places where
cul-de-sac meets forest or
sagebrush.
Heather Dean knows every-
one in Pine Forest. She and her
husband walk their two dogs
twice a day along the dirt roads
that weave through the for-
AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu
A wildfire burns near homes in the Cleveland National Forest in Lake Elsinore, Calif.
est. In the winter they snow-
shoe and cross-country ski on
the extensive trail system that
connects Pine Forest with sur-
rounding Forest Service land.
Fuel to burn
Wildfire has always been a
part of this dry, forested land-
scape — as it has in many parts
of the West — but as more peo-
ple have moved in the wild-
land-urban interface over the
past century, federal and state
agencies have aggressively
suppressed fires that would
have otherwise burned at lower
intensity and cleared out the
underbrush that builds up in a
forest over time.
“Our biggest problem is that
the forest has largely been left
to its own for a good chunk of
the time that Pine Forest has
been here and it’s gotten too
overgrown,” Dean explained.
Now, when Dean walks
through Pine Forest she sees too
many trees, too close together
with too much undergrowth.
The recommended density
of this forest is 25 to 30 trees
per acre, according to forestry
health experts Dean consulted.
On some plots in Pine Forest
that number is closer to 600.
That’s a lot more fuel to burn.
But she and others in the
community are working to do
something about it. Pine Forest
residents now pay $350 more in
homeowners association dues
to cover the cost of thinning the
trees in the common areas and
along shared roads. The home-
owners association contracted
with a logging company to give
individual property owners the
option of paying out of pocket
to have extra thinning done on
their property if they choose.
Dean said that when she bumps
into her neighbors on her fre-
quent walks she’s been heart-
ened by their response.
“A lot of people think, I can
do this all myself, but then they
realize it’s really a lot of work,”
she said. “We are much more
likely to get it done if we band
together and do it.”
Dean said that 60 percent of
the 135 lots in Pine Forest have
now been thinned. “If you can
get 60 to 75 percent participa-
tion you’ve made a significant
reduction in your risk of a large
fire, so we’re hopeful.”
That risk remains, of course,
but by taking the “all for one,
one for all” approach, as Dean
calls it, the Pine Forest commu-
nity has reduced its risk. Fire
resilience is a team effort, if
you ask wildfire scientists. An
individual homeowner can do
everything correctly on his or
her property, but if a neighbor’s
lot has a dense, overgrown for-
est, a fire can intensify and
spread across the tree canopy to
destroy even the best-protected
homes nearby.
Harm’s way
Since 1990, more than 60
percent of new homes in Cal-
The contractor for Asto-
ria’s 2018 Paving Project has
scheduled work for the fol-
lowing locations and dates:
Tuesday — Cedar Street
from 47th to 51st streets; 51st
from Cedar to Birch Street;
Birch from 51st to 53rd
streets; and 53rd from Birch
to Ash Street.
Wednesday — Irving Ave-
nue from 16th to 18th streets;
Franklin Avenue from 10th to
12th streets; 11th Street from
Duane to Exchange streets;
and 15th Street from Duane
to Franklin.
Thursday — Fourth Street
from Niagara Avenue to cul-
de-sac; and Fifth Street from
McClure to Nehalem avenues.
Temporary traffic delays
SATURDAY
76
59
71
58
Sun and areas of low
clouds
Intervals of clouds and
sunshine
Mostly sunny and nice
Clouds and sun with a
shower possible
ALMANAC
REGIONAL WEATHER
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
54/68
Tillamook
52/69
Salem
50/86
Newport
52/63
Sunset tonight ........................... 8:21 p.m.
Sunrise Saturday ........................ 6:18 a.m.
Moonrise today .......................... 1:39 p.m.
Moonset today ................................... none
Last
Aug 26
Coos Bay
53/68
New
Sep 2
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
1:43 a.m.
1:29 p.m.
Low
0.7 ft.
1.9 ft.
Hi
85
83
82
86
86
82
94
61
91
81
86
101
87
90
90
90
88
88
93
93
88
94
72
75
94
Today
Lo
72
72
69
59
65
68
74
48
79
69
67
84
71
75
81
73
78
74
69
74
72
66
54
56
76
Burns
42/88
ON THE RECORD
Klamath Falls
46/89
Lakeview
42/88
Ashland
56/95
Hi
88
86
71
84
65
86
91
81
62
66
Today
Lo
46
47
55
50
56
46
55
51
52
52
W
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
Hi
90
89
69
87
66
89
94
86
63
66
Sat.
Lo
44
50
53
52
55
49
58
55
52
54
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
75
91
80
88
82
67
88
84
79
92
Today
Lo
48
58
55
55
50
55
59
51
53
53
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
Hi
82
91
84
91
86
68
88
88
84
91
Sat.
Lo
49
59
58
57
53
54
60
54
56
53
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
Aug. 14, 2018
PETTEFER, Billie Jae, 65, of Wheeler, died in Seaside. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the arrangements.
Ontario
59/93
REGIONAL CITIES
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
W
t
pc
t
pc
pc
t
pc
c
pc
t
pc
s
pc
t
pc
t
t
t
pc
t
t
s
pc
pc
t
Hi
85
84
84
83
89
85
94
68
91
83
88
106
86
87
90
86
89
84
87
86
87
88
74
79
89
Sat.
Lo
72
66
68
55
68
66
76
46
78
66
69
87
68
75
80
72
76
68
71
72
71
61
54
58
74
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
t
t
pc
t
s
pc
t
pc
pc
c
pc
s
s
t
pc
t
t
pc
pc
c
c
s
pc
pc
t
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
Betty Eleanor Vaughn, 85, of Naselle, had a smile on her face.
Betty is survived by sister, Francy Penttila;
Washington, passed away peacefully at Wil-
lapa Harbor Health and Rehab Center in Ray- daughters, Linda Thompson (Tom), of Naselle,
mond, Washington, on Aug. 7, 2018. Betty and Judy
Heiner (Scott), of Montesano,
was born to Gunnar and Eva Nelson
Washington; and son, Danny Vaughn
on Feb. 3, 1933, in Salmon Creek,
(Pam and daughters Amanda and
Washington.
Morgan) of Naselle; grandchildren,
Betty graduated from Naselle
Michal Corbin (Derrill), Danielle
High School as salutatorian of the
Thompson, Jason Heiner (Mandi),
Class of 1951. She married Leonard
Justin Heiner and Calen Thompson;
Vaughn, and the couple made their
11 great-grandchildren; and numer-
home in Salmon Creek.
ous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Betty was a homemaker who
Betty was preceded in death by
enjoyed family, knitting, crocheting,
her husband, Leonard, in 2017; their
music, baking, sewing, clamming,
Betty Vaughn
first-born son, Leonard Dale Vaughn
playing cards and camping in their
in 1970; and her brother, Roy Nelson.
travel trailer. She was musically tal-
ented. She enjoyed singing in the
A memorial service will be held at
choir, and learned to play a variety of musi- Bethany Free Lutheran Church in Astoria, Ore-
cal instruments. Betty enjoyed helping those in gon, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15.
In lieu of flowers, please give the gift of your
need and volunteered at the local food bank.
She also worked outside the home for several time. Reach out to those in need, visit a shut-in
or nursing home resident. That’s what Betty
years.
Betty had a strong, unwavering faith in God, would do.
Arrangements are in care of Stoller’s Mor-
and was a member of Bethany Free Lutheran
tuary in Raymond, Washington. You may visit
Church.
She will be remembered for her kindness. StollersMortuary.com to leave condolences for
She was a selfless wife and mother who always the family.
DEATH
Baker
46/90
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
Tonight's Sky: Close approach of the waxing cres-
cent moon and Jupiter.
High
6.1 ft.
7.7 ft.
La Grande
48/89
Roseburg
55/91
Brookings
55/71
Sep 9
John Day
53/91
Bend
47/89
Medford
55/94
UNDER THE SKY
Time
7:53 a.m.
7:47 p.m.
Prineville
44/91
Lebanon
52/87
Eugene
50/87
SUN AND MOON
Full
Pendleton
58/91
The Dalles
57/92
Portland
55/84
Precipitation
Thursday .......................................... 0.00"
Month to date ................................... 0.33"
Normal month to date ....................... 0.46"
Year to date .................................... 36.07"
Normal year to date ........................ 37.40"
Aug 18
TUESDAY
70
56
Astoria through Thursday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 67°/58°
Normal high/low ........................... 69°/53°
Record high ............................ 90° in 1927
Record low ............................. 44° in 1973
First
MONDAY
68
53
54
Turning cloudy
SUNDAY
Economic driver
In cash-strapped coun-
ties like Okanogan that once
depended on logging or mining
for jobs and tax revenue, home
construction is a major eco-
nomic and tax revenue driver.
“There’s a whole new cash
cow in a lot of communities
and that’s residential develop-
ment,” said Ray Rasker, exec-
utive director of Headwaters
Economics. “So when they
see a proposal for a new sub-
division it’s understandable
for county governments to say,
eagerly, ‘Let’s approve this
because we get more tax reve-
nues from that.’”
Headwaters
Economics
has worked with local gov-
ernments across the country to
provide guidance.
Rasker said this is not about
halting development because
of a perceived risk. It’s about
incorporating the growing
body of information about
wildfire behavior into devel-
opment practices. “The sci-
ence is there, the knowledge is
there, to know how to do it bet-
ter than we have in the past,”
Rasker said. “We can’t guar-
antee that you can 100 percent
make a place fireproof but for
the most part, in much of the
West, you really can say ‘yes’
to development — but under
certain conditions.”
Naselle, Washington
Feb. 3, 1933 — Aug. 7, 2018
and road closures should be
expected, and alternate routes
should be used where possi-
ble. Before work begins, there
will be notification of park-
ing restrictions. All schedules
are subject to change in the
event of unfavorable weather
conditions.
For
questions,
call
Astoria Public Works at
503-338-5173.
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
ing population and business
growth — soon after the Carl-
ton Complex Fire. There was
no mention of wildfire in the
document. A revised draft plan
makes mention of wildfire risk
but does not provide specific
guidance on imposing build-
ing requirements or prohibiting
development in wildfire-prone
areas. Hover was not a com-
missioner when the plan was
developed.
Betty Eleanor Vaughn
Paving work scheduled in Astoria
The Daily Astorian
ifornia, Oregon and Wash-
ington state were built in the
wildland-urban
interface.
Washington has more homes
in the interface than any other
state, according to Headwa-
ters Economics. The National
Academy of Public Adminis-
tration predicts a 40 percent
increase in homes in the inter-
face between 2001 and 2030.
Fire destroyed an average
of 3,000 homes in the wild-
land-urban interface annually
over the last decade, according
the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency. And with
hotter, drier summers and a
longer fire season, experts pre-
dict that number to rise.
Despite the risk, across
much of the rural West, local
governments and planning
departments are hesitant to pre-
vent or hamper development.
“I’m not real big on
over-regulating people,” said
Andy Hover, an Okanogan
County commissioner who
lives near Pine Forest in the
Methow Valley. “You would
hope that people, when they
buy a piece of property, that
they understand what they’re
doing when they buy that
property.”
Hover said it’s the responsi-
bility of each individual home-
owner, not the entire com-
munity, to protect his or her
property from fire risk. And it’s
not necessarily the job of the
county to tell people where and
how they develop their prop-
erty, in light of that risk.
“Rules and regulations are
kind of like — well, is that
really what we want? It’s a lit-
tle more tricky to lay out pol-
icy that everybody can get
behind,” Hover said.
Okanogan County released
an updated comprehensive
plan — its plan for manag-
Assault
• At 1:13 p.m. Thursday, Robert Dale Larson, 50, of Seaside, was arrested by the Clatsop County
Sheriff’s Office on the 84380 block of Nordmark Drive and charged with menacing and harassment.
He was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute with a woman.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Knappa School Board, 5:30 p.m., Knappa High School library, 41535 Old U.S. Highway 30.
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
LOTTERIES
OREGON
Thursday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 3-6-2-1
4 p.m.: 7-0-1-1
7 p.m.: 4-1-7-0
10 p.m.: 8-6-3-7
Thursday’s Lucky Lines: 01-
06-12-16-17-24-28-32
Estimated jackpot: $20,000
WASHINGTON
Thursday’s Daily Game:
The Daily Astorian
Established July 1, 1873
(USPS 035-000)
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