A12
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
FIREWISE
FOREST
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gaps beneath decks allow the fire in-
side.
“Where can embers get in?” he said.
“Any kind of hole you leave in your
house is fair game.”
Howell said homeowners can take
many steps to make their property less
susceptible to fire: moving flammable
material, such as bark mulch, wood-
piles and debris, away from the home;
covering openings with wire mesh; ac-
quiring hoses and sprinklers for each
outdoor spigot; landscaping prudently;
and installing spark arresters on chim-
neys.
“The more defensible your home is,
the easier, the safer it is for us,” How-
ell said. “We put our lives on the line
every day. We mitigate as much risk as
Contributed photo/Irene Jerome
we can, and that’s what we ask people Oregon Department of Forestry’s Dave Meyer, second from left, describes fire behavior that occurred in
to do too.”
Dick Creek area during the Sugar Loaf Fire in June 2015 to Jenny Martin, from left, Tanner Walczyk, Jagger
One way communities can learn Michael, Tim Briggs, Jim Latshaw, Mark Howell, Dave Fields and Gail Beverlin. Topography, aspect, heavy
more about fire prevention and steps to juniper fuel and weather all played an important part in the intense fire that burned through this area.
improve safety is through the Firewise
program. Jerome said the informal,
community-driven program imple-
mented through the Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry provides assessments
for communities that wish to partici-
1. Clear leaves and other debris from roofs, gutters, porch-
pate and also offers resources for some
es and decks. This helps prevent embers from igniting your
of the work.
home.
“The whole idea is for communities
2. Remove dead vegetation and other items from under
to be accountable,” she said.
your deck or porch, and within 10 feet of the house.
Once the risk assessment is com-
3. Screen in areas below patios and decks with wire mesh
plete, the community decides if it is in-
to prevent debris and combustible materials from accumu-
terested and creates a timeline and pri-
lating.
orities. She said community members
4. Remove flammable materials (wood piles, propane
choose and implement the projects,
Contributed photo/Irene Jerome
tanks) within 30 feet of a home’s foundation and outbuild-
and they can perform them over time. From left, Jim Jerome, Dwain Anderson and Howard
ings, including garages and sheds. If it can catch fire, don’t
The program has few requirements and Gieger feed a chipper at Jack and Lola Derosier’s
helps by raising awareness.
property in the Pine Creek Firewise Community.
let it touch a house, deck or porch.
For communities that become des-
5. Wildfire can spread to tree tops. Prune trees so the low-
ignated as Firewise communities, she
est branches are 6 to 10 feet from the ground.
said some funding is available for veg-
6. Keep your lawn hydrated and maintained. If it is brown,
etation management within 200 feet of
cut it down to reduce fire intensity. Dry grass and shrubs are
a home. She said Firewise communi-
fuel for wildfire.
ties must also perform an annual com-
7. Don’t let debris and lawn cuttings linger. Dispose of
munity project.
these items quickly to reduce fuel for fire.
Three Firewise communities have
8. Inspect shingles or roof tiles. Replace or repair the
formed in Grant County — Pine Creek,
shingles that are loose or missing to prevent ember
Middle Fork and Ritter — and Jerome
said others have expressed interest. She
penetration.
said the first in Eastern Oregon was Pine
9. Cover exterior attic vents with metal wire mesh no larg-
Creek in 2014, and the community sur-
er than 1/8 inch to prevent sparks from entering the home.
vived the Canyon Creek Complex fire
10. Enclose eaves and screen soffit vents using 1/8 mesh
the following year. She hoped other
Contributed photo/Irene Jerome
metal screening to prevent ember entry.
communities would form as well.
A North Fork John Day Watershed Council
Additional information and materials are available at
“Now is the time to do it,” she said. youth crew assists Rick Gugliemi and Karen
firewise.org.
“You don’t want to wait until the fire Prudhomme by piling slash behind their home in
comes.”
the Ritter Firewise Community.
Service regulation reform;
and the reform of laws, such
as the Environmental Species
Act, the Clean Water Act and
the National Environmental
Policy Act.
“Things do need to turn
around,” he said.
At the state level, Storm said
the association has focused
its lobbying on preventing
“bad bills,” such as diesel
emissions and labor legisla-
tion, and tax increases. He
said the current legislative
session was a “train wreck”
under single-party control
with Democrats wanting to
tax and spend, increasing
the size of government. He
said, however, ODF provides
many services to loggers with
a tiny general fund budget.
“The Department of For-
estry is one of the good things
in government we strongly sup-
port,” he said.
After Storm spoke, ODF
Entomologist Christine Buhl
discussed problems with bark
beetles. Prevention is import-
ant, she said, because once
they’re inside the tree, it’s too
late. She said pheromone-based
repellants can prevent the bee-
tles from targeting trees by de-
ceiving them into thinking the
tree is fully occupied by other
beetles.
The rice-sized insects can
attack trees as a group, over-
whelming the trees’ defenses,
she said. Symptoms include
pitch, boring dust, staining and
galleries under the bark. While
just the tip of a branch may yel-
low from drought, Buhl said
bark beetles will affect an entire
branch or the top of a tree or the
whole tree.
She said ODF provides a
variety of fact sheets about
bark beetles and other prob-
lems, available at tinyurl.com/
odf-foresthealth/usfs-fidl.
ODF John Day Unit Stew-
ardship Forester Kirk Aus-
land concluded the dinner by
awarding Brad Clemends of B
& M Timber a Central Oregon
District Merit Award for his
salvage work after the Canyon
Creek Complex.
“B & M Timber has pro-
duced quality results under the
most difficult circumstances
and challenging conditions,”
Ausland wrote when he nom-
inated Clemens for Eastern
Oregon Operator of the Year.
“... Desired future conditions
will be more obtainable, and
reforestation efforts in the near
future will benefit from these
salvage operations.”
10 safety tips to protect
homes from wildfire
BIOMASS
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The facility will process the
debris closer to its source, re-
ducing transport costs and cre-
ating jobs locally. This reduced
cost will allow more work to be
done in the forest, according to
Scott Fairley, the Greater East-
ern Oregon Region Coordina-
tor for Business Oregon.
Based on demand, the facil-
ity can change to other prod-
ucts.
The project competed
against eight others and was
chosen alongside a water
development project in the
Umatilla Basin. The biomass
project was chosen because it
created local jobs using local
resources and increased pro-
ductivity from federal lands,
Fairley said.
At the 13-acre Seneca fa-
cility, located in the industrial
park, a set of scales was re-
cently installed, certified by
Forest Service and state, so
federal timber can be brought
in. More equipment, including
doweling machines and a chop
saw sorting system, will be
delivered from Klamath Falls.
Williams said the Seneca fa-
cility did not receive any state
funding and is up and running.
The John Day plant is expect-
ed to open this summer.
“Iron Triangle is not only
trying to utilize low-value
material but add jobs in the
community as well,” Williams
said.
Scott Fairley
The Basics & Effective
Communication Strategies
Thursday, June 8 | 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
John Day DHS APD Office
725 W. Main St., Suite E
John Day, OR 97845
541-523-6377
541-963-6577
541-573-6377
541-523-6377
05370
PUBLICATION FOR SONSHINE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Sonshine Christian School will be accepting pre-registrations for the
2017/2018 school year. Registration fee for students is $75.00.
If you or someone you know is affected by Alzheimer’s disease or dementia,
it’s time to learn the facts. This program provides information on detection,
causes and risk factors, stages of the disease, treatment, and much more.
As people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias progress in their
journey and the ability to use words is lost, families need new ways to connect.
Explore how communication takes place when someone has Alzheimer’s,
learn to decode the verbal and behavioral messages delivered by someone
with dementia, and identify strategies to help you connect and communicate
at each stage of the disease.
Zoo Phonic Programs Taught
Pre School students must be 3 years of age before September 1 of the
school year and able to attend to toileting without staff assistance.
Their classes will be offered 2 days a week from 9-11am.
Pre-Kindergarten students must be 4 years of age before September 1 of the school year.
Their classes will be offered 3 days a week from 9-11:30am.
Registration packets can be picked up at the church office, 521 E Main Street, John Day.
The office is open Tuesday-Thursday 9am-3pm. For information call (541) 575-1895
or e-mail Trace at the church e-mail address, judy@johndaynazarene.com
This class is free, but registration is required.
To register, call 800-272-3900.
05534
Offered in collaboration with: