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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 31, 2017)
HOME & GARDEN SPECIAL SECTION MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY PAGES A7-A9 PAGE A3 The Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , M AY 31, 2017 • N O . 22 • 20 P AGES • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Iron Triangle creating two biomass processing facilities By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle FROM EMBERS TO ASHES H OMES AT RISK MILES FROM FLAMES Firewise provides community risk assessments, resources By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle A s a wildfi re burns, even if the walls of fl ame do not pose an immediate threat, embers fl oating in the wind can ignite homes miles away. If the burning material enters the house through a vent or lands on roof debris, it can smolder until it eventually engulfs the house in fl ames — even if the original fi re never touches the surrounding area. Grant County Firewise Coordinator Irene Je- rome said the biggest threat to homes is not what many people think. “What we fi nally have fi gured out is it’s not the wall of fl ame,” she said. “The biggest home burner is embers.” In addition to having defensible space around the home to prevent the walls of fl ame — and spot fi res caused by embers — from encroaching on the house, owners must also think about the house itself. Mark Howell, fi re prevention offi cer for the Malheur National Forest’s Blue Mountain Ranger District, said a large fi re can distribute embers three miles away. Uncovered vents and crawlspaces or See FIREWISE, Page A12 Eagle photos/Rylan Boggs Mark Howell, the fire protection officer for the Blue Mountain Ranger District, helps property owner Roy Walker remove bark mulch from near his house in the Pine Creek Area. TOP PHOTO: Howard Gieger, left, and Phil Bopp tend a burn pile on Gieger’s 40-acre property in the Pine Creek area on Saturday, May 6. Gieger is the Firewise chairman for the Pine Creek area. “ What we finally have figured out is it’s not the wall of flame. The biggest home burner is embers.” — Irene Jerome, Grant County Firewise coordinator Two biomass processing facilities are expected to be up and running in Grant County this summer. Utilizing low-value vege- tation from the Malheur Na- tional Forest, the Iron Triangle plants in Seneca and John Day will initially produce posts, poles and chips and could move into torrefi ed products, if the market is available. Torrefaction is the process of baking biomass into a coal- like fuel that can be burned. The mar- ket for torre- fi ed material depends on the Port- land Gener- al Electric power plant King in Boardman Williams converting from burning coal to torrefi ed material, ac- cording to King Williams of Iron Triangle. PGE planned to convert the plant to biomass or shut it down entirely by 2020. “If they choose to start buying, undoubtedly, we will be in that market,” Williams said. Neither of the facilities currently have torrefaction equipment, but Williams said if it was needed they would get it. A state grant will aid the construction of the project in John Day. The county is pass- ing state funds and liability to Iron Triangle through a series of intergovernmental agree- ments. Iron Triangle will pro- vide a minimum of $1.75 mil- lion, and a state grant through Business Oregon will provide $811,800. Iron Triangle is required to provide at least 10 jobs for eight consecutive quarters and operate the facil- ity for 10 years. Williams said the 10 jobs were a minimum requirement, and there would likely be more. The John Day facility will chip and sort materials to be sent to the Seneca facility or elsewhere. The Seneca facility will sort and chip material and produce poles, Williams said. Iron Triangle will be creat- ing the facility on part of the old Grant Western Lumber property in John Day. See BIOMASS, Page A12 Loggers association suggests federal reforms to improve forest economy B & M Timber awarded for Canyon Creek Complex salvage By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle For the fi rst time since 2013, the Oregon De- partment of Forestry and Associated Oregon Log- gers hosted an operators dinner in John Day May 17, where attendees heard updates on the industry, legislation and insect problems. Associated Oregon Loggers Forest Policy Man- ager Rex Storm said, although there have been changes since 2013, the forest economy remains “very slack,” with only one local mill and lean timber supply. The problem is not a shortage in demand, he said, but a lack of a “suffi cient and re- liable volume of timber” preventing investment in mills, making it diffi cult to fi nd buyers for private logs. While ODF primarily works with private land- owners, Storm said the timber supply from the larger national forests has more impact on the log- ging infrastructure. He said, while the association looks forward to the completion of the forest plan revision that has been in progress for many years, he is “not optimistic” it will have the legal suffi - ciency for a sustainable timber supply. He said har- vest levels need to double or triple to improve the economy. Storm said he was hopeful President Donald Trump would usher in changes needed at the feder- al level. He said four steps would improve timber supply: a forest plan with legal suffi ciency for local authority; Forest Service leadership reform; Forest See FOREST, Page A12 The Eagle/Sean Hart Oregon Department of Forestry Stewardship Forester Kirk Ausland, right, congratulates Brad Clemens of B & M Timber on receiving a Central Oregon District Merit Award for his salvage logging efforts after the Canyon Creek Complex at an ODF and Associated Oregon Loggers operators dinner May 17 in John Day.
