Wildfires
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
A5
What now for burned forests?
Forest Service
developing plan
to salvage logs
By George Plaven
Blue Mountain Eagle
AID
Continued from Page A1
'unn said the community
has always managed to pull to-
gether during hard times, but the
Canyon Creek Complex was
unlike anything she¶s ever expe-
rienced.
“Canyon Creek going up
looks like a bomb went oII,´ she
said. “2ur hearts Must go out to the
people who lost everything.´
Beyond *rant County, good
Samaritans have loaded their
cars, trucks and horse trailers
with donated goods driven down
Irom Pendleton, Portland, Bend
and even as Iar as Boise. A truck
rolled in Saturday Irom Big R
2regon out oI Redmond, carry-
ing pallets oI donated horse tack,
Ieed, hoses and even a chainsaw.
Mike and Hilda Allison made
the 70-mile drive Irom Hines
with a special delivery oI Iood
and water. The couple used to
own a logging business together
and still know plenty oI locals in
the -ohn 'ay area.
“We woke up this morning,
The Eagle/George Plaven
Charred snags are left behind from the Parrish Cabin fire that broke out east of Seneca in 2012. It is up to
the Malheur National Forest to come up with a management plan for the landscape once firefighters finally
extinguish the Canyon Creek Complex that continues to burn south of John Day.
have the Canyon Creek BAER
¿nished within 30 days oI when
the bla]e is Iully contained. As
oI Tuesday, Aug. 25, the Canyon
Creek Complex is 74,744 acres
and 37 percent contained.
2nce Ioresters are able to ac-
cess the ¿re area, Beverlin said
they expect to ¿nd little vegeta-
tion leIt on the steep hillsides to
soak up spring rain snowmelt.
Without that natural cover, wa-
ter Àows down into the creek
as iI it¶s coming oII concrete,
washing dirt and ash into the
stream and creating Àooding
concerns around homes.
Water quality is an important
and Mike said µ/et¶s go do some
good things,¶´ Hilda Allison said.
“It¶s ama]ing how these small
communities rally.´
Volunteers help unload and
¿nd shelI space Ior all the new
items, while, behind the scenes,
another group oI volunteers up-
dates a 10-page list oI businesses
and individuals oIIering services
such as health, housing and ¿nan-
cial assistance.
-enniIer Mooney said it is
impossible to know exactly how
much has been donated so Iar.
Items keep coming in every day,
more than they could ever give all
away.
“All this is love Ior the ones
who need it,´ Mooney said. “It¶s
pretty awesome.´
Mooney, a retired Mustice court
clerk in Canyon City, has worked
at the Fairgrounds RelieI Center
since it opened Aug. 15 at the
peak oI the ¿re¶s intensity. Her
Mob is to greet Iamilies at the door,
make sure they sign in and help
them ¿gure out what it is they¶ll
need to take with them.
“Most oI them are so numb,
they can¶t think,´ she said. “So
we think Ior them, and try to pick
out the things they¶ll need.´
Mooney said she has no idea
how people think to donate the
things they bring in; things as
simple as ¿ngernail clippers that
are so basic they¶re easy to over-
look.
There are bigger things too,
like Iurniture, beds and a spare
generator. It¶s all needed and all
going to good use, Mooney said.
The relieI center keeps an
updated list oI things victims
need on its Facebook page, Fair-
grounds RelieI Center, which is
now Iollowed by 709 people.
“As long as there is a need, we
will stay open at the Iairgrounds,´
said Mindy Winegar, oI¿ce as-
sistant at the *rant County Fair-
grounds, who has been helping
organize the donations being
brought to the pavilion.
Mooney said they plan to
keep taking donations until the
need is no longer there.
“We¶ve done this out oI love,´
she said. “We¶re all helpers, and
we want to help.´
'unn still tears up when she
thinks about everything that¶s
happened the past week, and es-
pecially how her husband¶s child-
hood memories have essentially
gone up in Àames. They might be
in limbo now, she said, but they
will rebuild. And they will make
it better.
“It¶s Must going to take time,´
'unn said. “It¶s been a roller-
coaster.´
To reach the Fairgrounds Re-
lieI Center, call 541-575-1900.
issue, since the creek is prime
habitat Ior bull trout and steel-
head, Beverlin said.
³We¶ll have to do a lot oI up-
land soil stabili]ation work,´ he
said. ³,t¶s our Mob to slow down
WE CAN TAKE
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John Marciel
541-932-4334
Serving John Day,
Canyon City, Mt. Vernon,
Prairie City, Monument
& Long Creek Areas:
Debbie Ausmus
245 South Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845
OPEN WED. & THUR.
9 am - 5 pm
Grant County
528 E. Main, St. E,
John Day
Services Provided:
The damage caused by the
Canyon Creek Complex wild-
¿re south oI -ohn 'ay isn¶t Must
limited to 39 destroyed houses.
Flames have also torched
tens oI thousands oI acres oI
trees and vegetation throughout
the Canyon Creek watershed,
leaving the barren landscape
vulnerable to Iuture soil erosion
and Àooding.
2I¿cials at the Malheur 1a-
tional Forest are already at work
developing a rehabilitation plan
to protect the environment while
also allowing some opportuni-
ties Ior logging burned up trees
to boost the local economy.
The plan, known as a Burn
Area Emergency Rehabilita-
tion team, or BAER, outlines
site-speci¿c proMects to water-
shed health, such as planting
new trees and repairing inIra-
structure, including bridges and
culverts.
Forest Supervisor Steve Bev-
erlin said the planning is done in
conMunction with *rant County
and local property owners. The
BAER team has already started
discussing what proMects will
look like along Canyon Creek to
minimi]e the ¿re¶s impact.
³,t outlines the actions we¶re
going to do, and where, when
and who¶s going to do them,´
Beverlin said.
The Iorest service expects to
and intercept the precipitation
we get so it doesn¶t all come
running down at once.´
In addition, Beverlin said
there should be some opportu-
nities to salvage burned logs.
Exactly how much will depend
on the ¿re¶s ¿nal Iootprint.
The Iorest service does not
allow salvage logging in the
wilderness areas or within 300
Ieet oI streams. The BAER team
must also discuss with oI¿cials
Irom Malheur /umber, the lo-
cal mill in -ohn 'ay, about the
mill¶s capacity Ior new logs,
Beverlin said.
“We are exploring oppor-
tunities Ior salvage, and there
appears to be some,´ he said.
“We¶re Must trying to determine
the appropriate places and the
appropriate amount.´
Some species oI animals are
able to carve out habitats Irom
burned up tree snags, Beverlin
added. In particular, the Mal-
heur 1ational Forest has one
oI the most diverse groups oI
woodpecker species anywhere
in the country, which Ieeds on
insects Iound in the decompos-
ing wood.
Beverlin said the Iorest ser-
vice would like to get started
with rehabilitation beIore the
¿rst maMor snow oI winter, and
so Iar it is ahead oI the game.
*rant County has already identi-
¿ed 'oug Ferguson as a liaison
Ior the group, and conversations
are underway with the Blue
Mountain Forest Partners col-
laborative group.
“We¶re being proactive,´
Beverlin said. “We really need
to get on rehabilitation in a time-
ly manner.´
M-F, 8AM-5PM
SAT, 9AM-4PM
Dial-a-Ride: (541) 575-2370
Call for complete schedules.
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