Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 1978)
JULY 28, 1978 PAGE 9 FIRE CONTROL - IT'S CHANGED THROUGH THE YEARS (FROM HORSTS TO HELICOPTERS) said Whalawitsa. The helicopter can also be used to ferry men and equip ment into an area where the terrain is difficult or inacces sible by vehicle. Located on Kah-Nee-Ta Road by the two blue w are houses, the Fire Control Office has mobile tankers available, a 14-man crew, and can call upon the Redmond Air Base for assis tance if necessary. But despite all the modem equipment and manpower at their disposal, fire prevention is the by-word at the Fire Control PINPOINTING THE FIRE Office. When two lookouts radio in their reading to the Fire Control Office, Of the 14 wild-fires so far Larry W halawitsa can plot the ex a ct location of a fire which is this year, eleven have been pinpointed where the two lines converge. Having determined the man-caused and only two were location and nature of a fire, he can have men and equipm ent started by lightning strikes. mobilized within a matter of minutes. Response time to the four-acre And the thing that angers grass fire ea rlier this month near the Moody resid en ce was six Rangila Photo Whalawitsa the most is man- minutes. caused fires. What worries Whalawitsa Although m ethods and recalled. “ Most of us were In the most this year is the great equipment have advanced to the dians, and one day a guy shot a number of blowdowns. “ I t’s point where forest fires are deer and we all forgot about that bad,” he states. “It’s all down more easily controlled now, beef,” he quipped. and as it cures the fire danger Harry Davis rem em bers the Just maybe those men gain will increase.” The blowdowns stubborn Lion’s Head Fire in ed a bit of insight as to how it concern him because it adds to 1955 where the crews had to set was during the time of a forest the fire load above and beyond up camp for 21 days, a bit like in fire in years gone by. “It’s easy the thinning and logging slash the 1920’s. to rom anticize about the old that is lying around. So Fire “ Pack horses were sent in days,” someone said as he put Control is keeping an eye on that with supplies of rations and down his coke to answer the area of the reservation. beef, and it was kind of fun,” he phone. 'V 1 ♦ W 'S MU , THE EYE IN THE SKY Pilot Jim Henderschot arrived with the helicopter for this year’s fire season - July 1 to Septem ber 15. The second year it ’s been in operation at Fire Control, the helicopter cuts down on the time it takes to get moisture on a fire. The 50-gallon water bucket may not look like much, but in three drops it equals the capacity of a small tanker. Rangila Photo by Sandy Rangila In the summer of 1927 when a dry, frustrated storm lashed the reservation with whips of lightning, scores of fires were ignited in the range and forest land. All the way into Warm Springs the night sky glowed feverishly as winds fanned the flames into an orange monster which threatened to consume a good portion of tribal timber- land. But no helicopters or retard ant planes moved in to slow the progress of the inferno. No hotshots with red helmets para chuted in near the fire lines. When heading out to a forest fire in those days, men loaded up strings of packhorses with supplies from the commissary near what is now the old admini stration building. The firefighters rode out as far as they could in truck beds over dusty and often muddy roads, then either hiked in on foot or led in the pack trains by horseback. But most of the men walked in to where a base camp was set up for the duration. And once they got to the fire line there were no chain saws or 1000-gallon pumpers to aid them in their battle against one of nature’s most awesome and ter rifying forces. Today there exists a swift network of communication so that in the event of a forest fire, it can be doused in a hurry. Telex and electronic equipment spew out data on a daily basis so lightning fires can often be predicted well in advance through knowledge of approach ing storms. Sophisticated methods of fire detection enable fire control personnel to detect and pinpoint the location of a fire in short order, once it has started. Imm ediately after a light ning storm , the fire control helicopter (now in its second season here) goes out on recon naissance to hunt down any spot fires that may have been touch ed off. But according to Fire Con trol Manager Larry Whalawitsa, it is usually the lookouts at Sidwalter, Eagle Butte, and Shi- tike Butte who spot and report the fires first. Whalawitsa or Assistant M anager Harrison Davis take a reading from two of the lookouts, and with that information they can plot the exact location of the fire on the map-board. Vital data such as temper ature, humidity, wind direction, and weather forecasts all play a role in fire supression once it is detected. Mobilization of men and machinery is swift once a fire has been reported and located. - In the initial stage of a fire, the helicopter, piloted by Jim Henderschot, can dump 50 gal lons of w ater at a time to immediately raise the humidity at the fire site. “ In the later stages he works the hot spots,” CREW HEADING OUT TO A FOREST FIRE Smoke filled the sky during the summer of 1927 when this photo was taken in Warm Springs near what is now the old administration building. There used to be a commissary in that area where the men were recruited and loaded up with supplies. They rode as far as possible on the rough roads, then hiked in to the base camp where they stayed for the duration of the fire. (Photo courtesy BIA Forestry) PACK TRAIN AT BALD PETER LOOKOUT The year is uncertain, but it is probably in the 1920’s or 1930’s, and the man standing on thé horse is thought to be Wesley Smith. Supplies for fire fighters, rangers and lookout crews were hauled in by such pack trains in those days. Even in 1955 during the Lion’s Head Fire, rations were brought in by horse. The lookout tower in the background no longer exists. (Photo courtesy BIA Forestry)
