NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Busy fire season expected in Pacific Northwest
Malheur, Umatilla
fire crews preparing
for dry forests
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
While there is nowhere
of high concern right now
in Grant County for a poten-
tial wildfire, firefighters on
the Malheur and Umatilla
national forests are gearing up
for the upcoming fire season.
Eric Miller, assistant fire
management officer for the
Malheur National Forest, said
they have all of their resources
fully staffed and are training
for the upcoming seasons.
He said that all resources
should be ready to go by mid-
June, and they will order out-
side resources as needed to
supplement their staffing.
“We are still challenged
by COVID, and if it is a busy
fire season in the Western
U.S., then we will be compet-
ing with other fires for criti-
cal resources such as aviation,
(interagency Hotshot) crews
and incident management
teams,” Miller said. “Last
summer, there was a large
increase in visitors to pub-
lic lands, and we’re expecting
that trend again this year — so
we want to get the word out to
visitors on how they can help
prevent fires, since we don’t
want a corresponding increase
in fires.”
The upcoming fire season is
always hard to predict, accord-
Contributed photo/Todd McKinley
Lightning in 2019 caused four fires on the Malheur National Forest.
ing to Miller, but current pro-
jections based on drought
monitoring and the forecast
indicate a busy fire season in
the Pacific Northwest.
Miller said the predictions
are for above-normal tempera-
tures and below-normal pre-
cipitation, further increasing
the drought conditions.
Miller and Rachel Pawlitz,
interagency communication
specialist for fire, fuels and
aviation management, said
PREVENTING
FOREST FIRES
Check conditions — in-
cluding weather forecasts
and public use restric-
tions — before heading
onto public lands. Check
Keep Oregon Green’s
webpage for the latest on
fire restrictions: https://
keeporegongreen.org/
current-conditions.
one way Grant County citi-
zens can help this fire season
is following the public use
restrictions.
They added that people
need to avoid leaving their
campfires unattended and
report smoke to John Day Dis-
patch or 911.
“The basic rule of thumb
is: If a fire is too hot to touch, it
is too hot to leave,” they said.
“Also, check your vehicle and
address worn brakes, clogged
exhausts, underinflated or flat
tires, poorly greased bearings,
and ensure there are no drag-
ging parts, trailer chains or
tow straps. Clear your under-
carriage of accumulated grass
and weeds, which can easily
take a spark. Carry a fire extin-
guisher in your vehicle.”
Consider alternatives
to a campfire. Pack a
portable camp stove as a
safer option for outdoor
cooking. These are often
allowed even when camp-
fires are prohibited. When
the sun sets you can still
set a “campfire storytell-
ing” vibe by getting cre-
ative with a solar-powered
lantern or a flashlight.
Select the right spot. If
campfires are allowed, use
an existing ring. Fire pits in
established campgrounds
are the best spots. Avoid
placing fires near shrubs or
trees, tents, structures or
vehicles. Avoid low-hang-
ing branches overhead and
store extra firewood a good
distance away. Clear the
site to bare soil if no ring is
available. Remove ground
vegetation at least 5 feet on
all sides and encircle your
fire with rocks.
Survey reveals growing concerns over wildfire in Oregon
By Michael Kohn
Oregon Capital Bureau
As wildfires seem to grow
in number and severity each
year, Oregonians are express-
ing greater concern for how
wildfire affects their own lives.
A recent survey conducted
by the Oregon Values and
Beliefs Center found a strong
majority of Oregonians see
wildfires as “a somewhat or
very serious threat” to resi-
dents of the state.
Respondents
described
challenges with managing
the forests, as well as climate
change that is drying out for-
est areas and making them
more susceptible to wildfires.
The survey was conducted
May 4-10, with 918 Orego-
nians responding. The survey
has a margin of error of 2-3%.
Here are some of the hard
numbers: Nine out of 10
(93%) Oregonians see wild-
fires as a somewhat or very
serious threat to life and prop-
erty. Most people expressed
concern about wildfires affect-
ing the people of Oregon
rather than their own com-
munity (68%) or their family
OREGON VALUES
AND BELIEFS
CENTER
Contributed photo/Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office
A fire burns in Clackamas County the week of Sept. 9, 2020.
(58%).
Most Oregonians are also
convinced that the number
of serious wildfires will con-
tinue to rise. More than half
said wildfires in the state will
increase in both frequency
(55%) and severity (53%).
Beliefs that wildfires will
grow in frequency and inten-
sity are not tied to political
beliefs, the survey found.
Even though liberals and
conservatives have diverging
viewpoints on the existence
and causes of climate change,
more than 85% of Oregonians
of all social and economic ide-
ologies agree that fires are
likely to become more fre-
quent and more severe.
Two-thirds of young adults
(aged 18 to 29) in Oregon said
wildfires are a serious threat to
their family (66%) and nearly
three-quarters said they are
a serious threat to their com-
munity (73%). This is a sig-
nificant increase (19 and 17
percentage points higher)
compared to people 65 and
older.
Oregonians have more
faith in private landowners
compared to governments
when it comes to preventing
wildfire.
Around half of respon-
dents (49%) think that private
landowners are doing “very
The Oregon Values and
Beliefs Center is com-
mitted to the highest
level of public opinion
research. To obtain
that, the non-profit is
building the largest
online research panel of
Oregonians in history
to ensure that all voices
are represented in dis-
cussions of public policy
in a valid and statistical-
ly reliable way.
Selected panelists earn
points for their partic-
ipation, which can be
redeemed for cash or
donated to a charity. To
learn more, visit oregon-
vbc.org.
or somewhat well” at manag-
ing forests on their lands com-
pared to 33% who say the state
is doing “well,” and 27% who
say the federal government is
doing “well.”
Nearly two-thirds of Ore-
A3
gonians think that wildfires
should be fought, even if they
are far from homes and devel-
opment (72%). This figure
is 7% points higher than in
August 2019, suggesting that
the Labor Day fires in Oregon
caused an increased urgency
to fight fires.
The survey revealed that
Oregonians are concerned
about the unpredictable nature
of fires, the air pollution
caused by wildfire smoke and
the safety of wildlife.
What do Oregonians think
they can do to protect them-
selves? Eight out of 10 (81-
86%) respondents said that
clearing vegetation around
homes and hardening them
against fires are top-tier
strategies.
Two-thirds of Oregonians
(72-76%) said controlled
burns, thinning of weak trees
and purchasing more firefight-
ing equipment are top strate-
gies to prevent wildfire.
More divisive is logging.
Some 38% of respondents said
logging is a strategy to reduce
wildfire while 37% said they
are against logging to reduce
wildfire.
Keep it small. Smaller
campfires are less likely
to escape, and large fires
are more likely cast hot
embers long distances.
Add firewood in small
amounts, and only after
existing material is con-
sumed. Never use gasoline
or other accelerants.
Don’t use flammable or
combustible liquids, such
as gasoline, propane or
lighter fluid, to start or
increase your campfire.
Attend your campfire at
all times. An unattended
campfire can grow into a
costly, damaging wildfire
within minutes.
Drown all embers with
water when you are ready
to leave. Have water and
fire tools on site. Bring
a shovel and a bucket of
water to extinguish any
escaped embers. Stir the
coals, then drown them
again. Repeat until the fire
is dead out.
John Day
When people share their time, treasure and talent, the benefi ts spread throughout the entire
community. In celebration of this culture of generosity, we thank the tremendous work of
nonprofi ts, volunteers and donors who help improve the lives of all Oregonians.
JUST A FEW OF THE 350 EASTERN
OREGON GRANTS AWARDED IN 2020:
EASTERN OREGON 2020
LOCAL I M PAC T TOTA L S:
Burns Paiute Tribe
Grants and Scholarships: $5.6M
Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts
Grants: 350
Euvalcree
Scholarships: 320
Four Rivers Cultural Center & Museum
Value of Endowment: $47.7M
High Desert Partnership
Volunteers: 173
Kids Club of Harney County
Funds: 148
Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center
Northeast Oregon Compassion Center
Pendleton Friends of the Library
St. Mary’s Outreach Food Pantry
Umatilla County Historical Society
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 922
L E A R N | CO N N EC T | D O N AT E
BRINGING OREGONIANS TOGETHER SINCE 1973
PORTLAND | BEND | SALEM | EUGENE | MEDFORD
O R E G O N C F. O R G
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