NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
A7
Fire season: Signifi cant large wildfi res predicted
Continued from Page A1
fi res each were burning in
Alaska and Arizona; two
each in Washington and Cal-
ifornia; three in New Mex-
ico; and one in Florida.
Regional outlook
In the Northwest, NIFC
predicts the potential for
signifi cant large fi res will
be normal with the excep-
tion of the coastal areas
and far Northern Idaho and
Montana.
In California, NIFC
expects above-normal fi re
risk in June and July in the
San Francisco Bay Area,
Sacramento Valley and
central coast, the excep-
tion being the mountainous
Mendocino National Forest,
which will be normal.
For August and Septem-
ber, normal or above-nor-
mal fi re risk is forecast for
the northern half of the state.
National Interagency Fire Center /Capital Press
An engine crew watches an air tanker drop water on the 2015 Chelan Fires in Washington’s
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
Grassland, timberland
Bryan Henry, meteorolo-
gist and acting fi re weather
program manager for NIFC
Predictive Services, said
year-to-date moisture was
above normal in Califor-
nia and in much of Southern
Idaho and Eastern Oregon.
That will produce a robust
crop of grass and other fi ne
fuels that keeps rangeland
fi refi ghters busy later in the
season, when temperatures
rise.
He also expects a late
start for the timberland fi re
season, especially at higher
elevations. A late, heavy
snowpack and lingering
colder-than-normal weather
have kept fuels wet longer.
But the drier timberland
areas in northwestern Oregon
and in Washington state, and
in Idaho near the Canadian
border, “could see a near-nor-
mal start and progression” of
the fi re season in June, Henry
said. “Then, activity could
be above-average for the
season.”
July temperatures should
be close to normal from the
Sierra Nevada to the Colum-
bia Basin and the North-
ern Rockies, he said. That’s
in contrast to weather that
averaged about 5 degrees
warmer the last several
years. In July, “we also
should see some above-nor-
mal precipitation.”
Soil moisture is ample in
much of the Great Basin and
California, which could por-
tend higher humidity in the
afternoons as temperatures
rise, Henry said. “Grasses
would not be as excessively
dry. Fire spread rates would
be lower in that scenario,
but that is a matter of wind
speed.”
Training increases
The Bureau of Land
Management last year con-
ducted 39 fi refi ghter train-
ing sessions with volunteer
rangeland fi re protection
associations involving 692
RFPA members, said Steve
Acarregui, national coopera-
tor and veteran affairs coor-
dinator for the BLM Fire
and Aviation Directorate.
“The outlook for 2019 is a
little uptick — just over 40
trainings and over 700 mem-
bers receiving BLM-funded
training.”
Nationwide, more than
8,200 trained fi refi ght-
ers work with or cooper-
ate with BLM. Acarre-
gui said the agency spends
about $1 million a year to
train local cooperators such
as rangeland associations
and rural fi re departments,
develop fi eld communica-
tion plans and aid in leader-
ship development.
‘Reality check’
Henry said on June 14
that about 20,000 lightning
strikes during the previous
two nights in Northern Cal-
ifornia, the Northwest and
much of the Rockies and
Great Basin proved valuable
to forecasters.
“We needed a good test
and reality check to make
sure our assumptions were
correct based on the numer-
ical guidance we had, and
they were correct,” he said.
“The substantial lightning
we had occurred in areas we
had questions about.”
Earlier data “indicated
the that fuels were drying at
a slower-than-average rate
and were not yet receptive”
to fi re, Henry said. “That did
prove to be the case.”
For example, light-
ning-caused fi res on grasses
in Oregon — concentrated in
the state’s central and east-
ern regions — and near the
Idaho-Utah line were mostly
an acre or smaller, and short-
lived, he said.
But the storms origi-
nated from the Pacifi c and
included moisture. More
typically this time of year,
the storms originate from
the Southwest and bring less
rain, Henry said.
“This is not the kind of
event we want to see in July,”
when the landscape will be
signifi cantly drier, he said.
Set to go
In north-central Idaho,
the Nez Perce-Clearwa-
ter National Forests include
steep, grassy canyons where
fi re can spread quickly, with
timber and towns sprinkled
throughout. At a higher ele-
vation south of the Clearwa-
ter River is a fi refi ghting air-
craft and smokejumper base
in Grangeville.
“If we get a smoke report,
we want to get on it quickly
to ensure the fi re remains
small,” public affairs spe-
cialist Gregg Goodland said.
“As you move up in eleva-
tion, you gradually change
to a brush-type fuel, and
those fi res are going to hold
different challenges,” such
as bigger fl ames.
Nez
Perce-Clearwater
fi re managers this season
expect average activity.
“We are expecting some
large fi res, like normal, and
the possibility of numer-
ous fi res at once,” Good-
land said on June 10. “As
we see storms develop and
conditions getting more ripe
to support fi re, in terms of
preparations and what we
are expecting, it’s kind of all
right there.”
During last year’s busy
wildfi re season, the Nez
Perce-Clearwater
forests
caught a break. “Lightning
just seemed to go around
us,” he said.
Season accelerates
However, the outlook
is as changeable as the
weather.
A delay in timberland
fi re activity could prolong
the prescribed-burn sea-
son, which typically ends as
fuels dry and personnel are
called to other fi res, John
Bailey, a professor of silvi-
culture and fi re management
at Oregon State University,
said June 6.
“But in general, the West
is going to be in fi re season
fairly soon,” he said. “Most
Introducing Orthopedic Surgeon
Dr. Adam Heisinger
• Doctor of Osteopathy,
Des Moines University, Iowa
• Internship and Residency completed
in orthopedic surgery at Affinity
Medical Center, Ohio; Fellowship in
sports medicine completed at Orthopedic
Research of Virginia, Richmond
• Served four years as flight surgeon,
Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and
Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina
factors of the last 15 years
are still in play,” including
increases in fi re severity and
acres burned, greater human
presence and some decline
in active land management
that incorporates harvest.
“Fuels are still growing,
every year and every day.
“Everyone
basically
expects it’s only going to
get worse in the near term,”
Bailey said. However, he
said, “It’s not going to apply
every year in every location.
It’s a complex world.”
Henry said last fall’s big
California fi res occurred
amid critically dry fuels,
high temperatures, and
humidity in the 10-15%
range. “And we had some
gusty wind events, like
down-sloping winds.”
Those fi res far exceeded
expectations, he said. “The
behavior we saw from those
fi res was more severe than
what we would otherwise
expect. We expected very
aggressive fi res, but these
things were almost off-the-
charts bad.”
California’s
high-ele-
vation timber this year is
in better shape because of
an ample snow melt and
should see a “late entry”
into peak fi re season, Henry
said. August heat likely will
pose problems in middle-
and low-elevation grasses
plumped by earlier heavy
rain but subsequently dried.
As to what is considered
a “normal” U.S. wildfi re
season, the average num-
ber of acres burned has been
increasing over time despite
year-to-year
variations,
Henry said. “So it is almost
a fl oating average.”
Moore, the Mountain
Home fi re chief, said light-
ning strikes, power-line
issues and an increase in the
number of people living in
the wildland-urban interface
can add to the fi re workload.
“Plan your work and
work your plan because it’s
something you live with in
the desert,” he said. “And
most often when it gets dry,
we are susceptible to fi res.”
Time for a Computer Tuneup?
Spyware Removal • 541-426-0108
113 E. Main St., Enterprise
Ellen Morris Bishop
TOP Bowlby Bash driver Jude Hostetter and mechanic and
sidekick George McDonald are ready to take on the fi eld
of soapbox racers in car Number 1. BOTTOM A root beer
fl oat made by the VFW gets serious attention from Delaney
Bronson.
Bowlby Bash: Eight
racers enter soap box derby
Continued from Page A1
extra touches to the VFW
racer including rear view
mirrors, and an ignition
key. Of course, it doesn’t
start anything, but it looks
nice on the dash. For extra
weight and stability, the
car sports a slate fl oor-
board. Aguilar’s work on
the Number 1 car includes
installing faux exhaust
manifolds on the hood, and
creating a compartment
in the front that can hold
additional weights.
No matter their age, the
Bowlby Bash Derby driv-
ers take their sport seri-
ously. “I’m going to keep
my trophy,” Aguilar, who
drives in the adult, over
age 18 division, said.
ELECTRICAL
& PLUMBING SUPPLIES
ELECTRICAL & WATER SYSTEM
CONTRACTOR
PUMPS • IRRIGATION
HARDWARE• APPLIANCE PARTS
208 S. RIVER ST. • ENTERPRISE, OR
www.jbbane.com • 541-426-3344
Wallowa County Museum
OPEN HOUSE
Friday, June 28th from 10am-6pm
Free admission! Refreshments!
Guided tours available
Main Street, Joseph
SPACE
RESERVATION
DEADLINES
for weekly advertising is 5pm
Friday for the following week.
Ad copy is due on Monday at
10am. Ads must be approved by
Tuesday at 12pm.
Our Offices will be Closed on the 4th of July
Contact Jennifer today
for all your advertising needs!
Dr. Heisinger will be seeing patients at Wallowa
Memorial Hospital regularly for clinic visits
and surgery. Ask your physician for a referral today.
at jcooney@ wallowa.com • 541-805-9630
We treat you like family
601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org
Wallowa Memorial Hospital is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
209 NW First St., Enterprise • 541-426-4567 • wallowa.com