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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017
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Siuslaw News
Community Voices
SIUSLAW VALLEY
FIRE & RESCUE
B Y P ETE “B OA ” W ARREN
Recruitment & Retention
Coordinator for SVFR
S
iuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue
(SVFR) recently awarded six of
its own with highly-coveted
Challenge Coins in recognition and
appreciation of their dedicated volun-
tary service in two task-force conflagra-
tions working Oregon and California.
It has been an especially cruel sum-
mer for those devastated by a rash of
western mega-fires. The Chetco Bar
Fire swept through more than 200,000
acres in and around the Chetco River
and Brookings, Ore. Crews battled
flames fanned by the “Chetco Winds” in
this, the largest fire in the nation this
summer.
SVFR Capt. Andy Gray led a valiant
effort with fellow firefighters PJ
N ATURAL
Megafire moments come home
Crescioni and Levi Green aboard a
SVFR Quick Attack vehicle, joining
firefighters from many departments.
Firefighter Crescioni described the
scene immediately upon entering the
active zone as their convoy drove
through Brookings with lights and
sirens, saying, “It was like a hundred
thousand times bigger than anything
we’ve ever seen.”
One week after Captain Gray’s team
returned from the Chetco Bar conflagra-
tion, a SVFR engine and crew were
deployed to one of the most devastating
and costly fires in California history.
Three SVFR Firefighters — Kyle
Orozco, Tony Miller and Blair
Campbell — were designated as
Oregon Task Force 1 and were the very
first Oregon engine and crew in state
history to assist Cal Fire. It was a dis-
tinctive honor for SVFR.
Other Oregon fire companies assisted
as well, but ours was the first.
Engine Boss Orozco and his crew
departed just after midnight, checked in
at the designated rendezvous in Goshen,
Ore., and commenced the 12-hour drive
to Santa Rosa, Calif. Upon arrival, they
were granted only enough time to stow
their gear and set up cots in the 3,000-
plus firefighter tent city at the fair-
grounds. Then, they were immediately
PERSPECTIVE
deployed to the fire’s front lines to pro-
tect structures. They worked a 24-hour
assigned shift before returning to rest
after what amounted to a 54-hour duty
cycle, including travel from Florence.
Back at the fairgrounds, just on the
other side of a fence, were many of the
displaced evacuees watching the
plumes of smoke rising above the areas
they had just retreated from. Among the
memorable experiences our firefighters
brought home was the sight of so many
affected by this devastating conflagra-
tion. As they searched through burnt
homes for remnants of anything resem-
bling something of important or senti-
mental value, they came to deeply
empathize with those who lost every-
thing.
Observing from afar, we see the dev-
astation brought to these people. They
are just like you and I, but the emotion-
al after effects are burned into the psy-
che of our brave firefighters who
embraced and cried with those who are
forever traumatized by that tragic expe-
rience.
______________________
Pete “Boa” Warren can be contacted
at 541-997-3212, or the main SVFR sta-
tion, 2625 Highway 101, or email
Boa@svfr.org.
HIT THAT
—
Turkey Time
B Y E MILY J. U HRIG , P H D
Special to the Siuslaw News
T
hanksgiving is around
the corner and the pride
of place at many tables
will doubtlessly be the tradi-
tional turkey. However, as we
gear up for the big day, most
of our thoughts are likely to
focus on the bird in its fork-
ready state rather than any
other aspects of its life.
The store-bought turkeys
are a domesticated species
bred to be much larger than
their wild counterparts. Wild
turkeys can be found through-
out Oregon, but are not native
to our state and were first
introduced in the 1960s.
Turkeys have since become
popular with hunters and a
bane for some Oregon com-
munities where roving flocks
have become a messy nui-
sance to yards and gardens.
The tom turkey, the male, is
perhaps the best-known image
of the species and a ubiquitous
Thanksgiving icon with his
prominent fan-shaped tail. The
wattle hanging from his chin
and the fleshy appendage,
called a snood, dangling over
his beak are also rather strik-
ing features.
From a human perspective,
the tom may not be the most
handsome of birds, but his odd
countenance is important for
attracting female attention. For
instance, females prefer to
mate with males that have
longer snoods and wattles as
these characteristics are asso-
ciated with male health, possi-
bly indicating he has a good
resistance to parasites.
A characteristic even more
observable on the traditional
Thanksgiving table is the dis-
tribution of so-called “light”
and “dark” meat in the turkey.
Families are often firmly
divided regarding which is
tastier, but for the turkey the
light and dark meat represent
two types of muscles that dif-
fer in their athletic perform-
ance.
The darker meat is found in
areas of the body that must be
more resistant to fatigue.
Turkeys travel mainly by
walking or running and can
reach speeds around 19 miles
per hour.
Their legs, therefore, need
to have endurance and the
associated muscles are rich in
a type of protein that stores
oxygen and helps the muscle
resist fatigue; it’s this protein
that gives the leg muscles
their darker color.
As turkeys fly relatively lit-
tle, or not all in the case of
farmed birds, the flight mus-
cles in their breast have much
less of the protein and conse-
quently are lighter in color.
This Thanksgiving season,
as you’re basting and butter-
ing in the kitchen and banter-
ing at the table, consider some
of the interesting aspects of
the turkey’s life beyond the
plate.
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