Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Fire Season Ends In Northeast Oregon

As of 12:01 a.m. on October 27, 2015, fire season is officially terminated for forestlands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), Northeast Oregon District. This includes private, state, county, municipal, and tribal lands in seven counties: Union, Baker, Wallowa, Umatilla, and small portions of Grant, Malheur, and Morrow. Cooler temperatures and scattered rain showers over the past few days combined with a favorable forecast of more precipitation have prompted fire managers to end fire season. Dennis Perilli, Pendleton Unit Forester, reminds people to continue to use caution “We’ve received some moisture and there is more in the forecast. However, as folks are thinking about whether to burn debris and slash piles, they need to remember that one warm windy day can cause conditions to shift quickly. Each year we respond to escape controlled burns in the fall.” Technical advice for burning and smoke management can be obtained from your local ODF office.

With the termination of fire season, requirements such as providing fire-fighting equipment at logging sites or obtaining a burning permit for burn barrels are no longer in effect. However, terminating fire season does not relieve landowners or forest operators of lawful responsibilities concerning the safe burning of debris or slash.

Specific Smoke Management/Burning Advisory Information:

 If you are under the protection of a rural or city fire department, please call and ask what
their burning restrictions are. Burn permits for burn barrels and small amounts of yard debris are not required on lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry. In addition, burning within the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation requires a permit from the CTUIR. Follow all requirements within the permit.

 Burning of slash from forestry and logging activities requires a Notification of
Operation/PDM from the Oregon Department of Forestry. In addition to this permit, the
local Oregon Department of Forestry office must be contacted prior to ignition.
Before burning in northeast Oregon, it is important to check weather conditions relative to
smoke management. For smoke management forecasts call (541) 963-9781 or visit the
following website:
http://www.odf.state.or.us/DIVISIONS/protection/fire_protection/Daily/neo.htm.

 Slash Burns must be registered with the local Oregon Department of Forestry office at
least 7 days prior to burning and burning accomplishments reported within 7 days after
burning.

The Northeast Oregon District of the Oregon Department of Forestry would like to thank landowners, forest operators and the public for their efforts in fire prevention, detection, and suppression activities this season. Fire Season 2015 brought an active fire year for the Northeast Oregon District. 54,907 acres were burnt across the district in 80 incidents. Additional resources such as helicopters, dozers and single engine air tankers, partially paid for with General Fund monies from the State of Oregon helped to aid firefighting efforts significantly. These additional resources were part of the coordinated effort used by ODF which also included rural fire departments, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, local contractors, landowners, and a long standing relationship with the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

For further information, contact the Oregon Department of Forestry at these local offices:

La Grande Unit (541) 963-3168
Baker City Sub-Unit (541) 523-5831
Wallowa Unit (541) 886-2881
Pendleton Unit (541) 276-3491
To report a fire, call 9-1-1.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Regulated-Use Closure terminated on lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry Fire Season still in effect


As of 12:01 am, October 19, 2015, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) has terminated the Regulated-Use
Closure for private forestlands protected by the Northeast Oregon District. This closure and the additional fire
prevention restrictions it included are no longer necessary as a result of changing weather and fuel conditions.
Campfires and warming fires are now allowed with landowner permission. Joe Hessel, La Grande Unit Forester,
cautions “The moisture we received over the weekend has helped lower fire danger. However, the larger fuels are
still relatively dry. Folks still need to be cautious and ensure that campfires are dead out before leaving the
campsite.”
Although fire restrictions have eased, Fire Season remains in effect for private, state, county, municipal, and tribal
lands protected by the Northeast Oregon District. Burn permits are still required for all open fires (except
campfires), debris burns and burn barrels. “The need for a Burn Permit for open burning and barrels will continue
until we enter a sustained trend of wetter weather.” Said Hessel. The Northeast Oregon District includes lands in
the following counties: Union, Baker, Wallowa, Umatilla, and small portions of Grant, Malheur, and Morrow
Counties.
Year to date fire information for lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry Northeast Oregon
District:
Lightning caused: 42 fires Acres burned: 55,608
Human caused: 23 fires Acres burned: 6,472
Note that when traveling from private land onto federal land, fire restrictions may change. Please check
restrictions before conducting activities in the outdoors.
To report a fire, call the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center at (541) 963-7171, or 911.
For further information, contact your local Oregon Department of Forestry office:
La Grande Unit (541) 963-3168
Baker City Sub-Unit (541) 523-5831
Wallowa Unit (541) 886-2881
Pendleton Unit (541) 276-3491
More information can be found at the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center website

http://bmidc.org/index.shtml. Look under fire restrictions.

Saturday, October 10, 2015


Dry Gulch – Eagle Complex – Cornet/Windy Ridge
Fire Information Update

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Fire Information: (541) 975-4271
                              (541) 523-1208
 
Firefighters Continue to Patrol Fires
As the unseasonably warm, dry weather continues, firefighters continue to patrol the Dry Gulch, Eagle Complex, and Cornet-Windy Ridge fires each day, extinguishing the occasional small smokes that appear inside the fire lines of the fires. All the fire containment lines are holding on these three fires.  Crews are mopping up smokes they find near the perimeter of the fires, and putting out smokes in the interior of the fires as needed.  A helicopter is available for reconnaissance flights and water drops with a bucket if needed.
 
After a chance of showers with increasing winds tonight and tomorrow, the weather will return to warm and dry conditions through the coming week. 

Dry Gulch Fire  
One engine is patrolling the fire, and extinguishing any smokes they find along the perimeter of the fire.   

Fire suppression repair work on contingency dozer fire lines is completed. Berm material was pulled back over dozer fire lines, and brush, limbs and rocks were spread over contingency fire lines that were constructed by dozers.  Water bars were installed to divert run off water along dozer fire lines on slopes.  Suppression repair work on the dozer fire lines used for control along the perimeter of the Dry Gulch fire will be done later this fall when those fire lines are no longer needed for fire containment.

The Dry Gulch fire burned 17,823 acres which includes: 10,396 acres (58%) of Bureau of Land Management land; 2480 acres (14%) on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest; 4814 acres (27%) of other jurisdictions; and 133 acres (1%) of land protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry. No structures were lost in the Dry Gulch fire.

Eagle Complex
There will continue to be visible smoke in the Sullivan Creek area on the east side of the fire until significant precipitation is received to extinguish it.  An engine is patrolling the Eagle fire each day, putting out smokes along the perimeter of the fire, mostly on the east side of the fire.  Portions of the east perimeter of the fire have fingers of unburned material, without a clean, wide, solid black line.  The fire is creeping and smoldering in the area between Sullivan Creek and Twin Canyon, slowly burning about 2 or 3 acres a day in rugged, difficult terrain.

The suppression repair work has been completed on all the interior and contingency dozer fire lines on the Eagle Complex. Water bars were installed on dozer lines on slopes to prevent erosion.  Berm material was put back in place, and brush, limbs and rocks were spread over these dozer lines.  After the fire suppression is finished this fall, the fire suppression repair work will be done on the primary dozer fire lines used for control around the perimeter of the fire. 

All road closures on the Eagle Complex were terminated on September 21st.

Cornet-Windy Ridge Fire 
Engines from the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, and Oregon Department of Forestry continue to patrol the Cornet-Windy Ridge fire each day, to extinguish any smokes they find along the perimeter of the fire and to put out smoke in the interior of the fire as needed.  Occasional small smokes are found in the Denny Creek area and in other various scattered locations. 

A 10-person crew has been seeding the contingency and interior dozer fire lines in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest with grass seed this past week, and should complete this work today.  Next week they will start to place mulch on the contingency and interior dozer fire lines in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest that are no longer needed for fire suppression. 

The area closure on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest for the Cornet-Windy Ridge fire was terminated on September 28th.  The Cornet-Windy Ridge fire is located west of Durkee, south of Baker City, and northeast of Hereford, OR.  It is west of I-84, and south of Highway 7.

Fire Restrictions and Other Information
Seasonal fire restrictions are in effect for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Campfires are allowed in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest with specific requirements for a cleared area, fire ring, tools and water to make them safe.  For more information please contact any Wallowa-Whitman National Forest office or visit the website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/wallowa-whitman/.    Information is available at the Blue Mountain Fire Information BlogSpot at http://bluemountainfireinfo.blogspot.com/.

A regulated closure is in effect on state and private lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) in northeast Oregon. Please check with a local Oregon Department of Forestry office for more complete information on public use fire restrictions on lands protected by ODF, or visit the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch webpage at: www.bmidc.org.

The Vale District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rescinded their fire restrictions on September 21, 2015.  For further information contact a BLM office or the website at www.blm.gov/or/districts/vale. 

Fire season is not over yet, with this continued warm and dry weather.  Please be extra careful with fire and prevent wildfires. 

Fall is a good time to take steps to make your property more fire safe, better able to survive a wild fire, and to create defensible space.  For further information visit websites such as:  www.firewise.org;  www.pnwfac.org;  www.oregon.gov/ODF;  www.nifc.gov;  www.nfpa.org;  and www.keeporegongreen.org.

The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest is seeking public comments for proposed fire salvage logging and roadside danger tree removal in the portions of the Cornet-Windy Ridge, Eldorado, Eagle Complex, and Dry Gulch fires located on the Whitman Ranger District.  Written comments must be submitted by October 16, 2015 to:  Whitman District Ranger, 1550 Dewey Ave., Suite A, Baker City, OR 97814.  Comments may be submitted electronically to:  comments-pacificnorthwest-wallowa-whitman-whitmanunit@fs.fed.us.  For further information call 541-523-1350.

 
 
Incident Summary – Quick Facts
Dry Gulch Fire:     It is 17,823 acres, and is 95% contained, with one engine patrolling the fire.  It is located 7 miles northwest of Richland, OR, and the cause is under investigation.  The fire is on Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, and Oregon Department of Forestry protected lands. 
Eagle Complex:    It is 12,763 acres, and is 80% contained, with one engine patrolling the fire.  This lightning caused fire is located 20 miles northwest of Richland, OR, and is on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry.
Cornet-Windy Ridge Fire:   It is 103,887 acres, and is 100% contained, with approximately 16 personnel working on the fire.  The east end of this lightning caused fire is located 4 miles west of Durkee, OR.  It is on Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, and lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry.