The Oregonian
Sept. 14, 2011, 9:10 p.m. PDT
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal fire responders say unreliable weather forecasts, a dearth of resources, tough terrain and multiple blazes elsewhere are to blame for the timing of a response to an Oregon wildfire that has burned on more than 6,000 acres on the north side of Mount Hood and has posed a potential threat to the watershed from which nearly 1 million Portland residents get their water.
Residents have criticized the response as too slow and businesses said the Labor Day trade suffered as a result, U.S. Rep. Greg Walden said in a letter to National Forest Supervisor Chris Worth asking for an explanation.
"Local residents who live nearby the fire have relayed to me that the United States Forest Service could have launched a much faster response to this fire during its early stages but instead chose to let the fire, then only a handful of acres, burn," Walden wrote in the letter, sent Tuesday.
The Dollar Lake fire was found Aug. 27 after a barrage of lightning strikes. According to dispatch records provided by the Mount Hood National Forest, the blaze was first spotted at about 9 a.m. by an assistant fire-management officer.
Firefighters were unable to locate the base of the blaze, and conditions were too windy for them to jump from an airplane to extinguish it.
By 5 p.m., crews had managed to drop one load of water onto the fire from a helicopter, but the impending darkness created by the shadow of the mountain forced them to turn the helicopter back.
The darkness also forced firefighters who hiked for more than six hours through difficult terrain to turn back before they reached the 2-acre fire.
The blaze has drawn closer to the Bull Run watershed, which supplies about 900,000 people in Portland and its suburbs with drinking water. The fire began about 16 miles from the water supply and is now about 6 miles away.
"On that first day, due to the rough terrain — and you know it's very steep and rough — we tried to get an accurate pinpoint of the location," Mount Hood National Forest spokesman Rick Acosta said. "Our aim when we have a fire in the wilderness, when we have a small fire that was competing with much bigger fires at the time, is to keep it away from development."
Acosta said there were 16 other fires burning on Mount Hood on Aug. 27. A total of nine major wildfires were burning throughout the Pacific Northwest, and another two major fires were found in the region by the morning of Aug. 27. Another large fire broke out the next day.
Acosta acknowledged the helicopter was requested earlier than 5 p.m. but said it wasn't available because of the other fires.
The forecast on the morning of Aug. 27 was for cooler conditions and high humidity, Acosta said, which help tamp down wildfires. But by Aug. 28, the forecast was revised: Warm and dry weather would continue, and the fire would continue to spread.
Walden noted in his letter that tourism in the area suffered because of the wildfire and resulting smoke. The Labor Day crowds stayed away, Walden wrote, on one of the busiest weekends of the year.
Walden has asked for a timeline and decisions made during the early stages of the fire.
Acosta said the U.S. Forest Service will examine the response to the fire, and said the release of dispatch records was an effort by service to be transparent with the public.
"We as the fire managers and the ones closest to the situation on the ground will take a look at situation and review it," Acosta said. "We're trying to be as transparent as possible."
Acosta said he's drafting a response to Walden's letter.
The response to the fire has so far cost $9 million. Cooler weather this week has allowed fire crews to make progress toward insuring it won't jeopardize the water supply or nearby power lines.
Walden spokesman Andrew Whelan said Walden had heard from both residents and businesses, and said they deserve an explanation.
"If they're talking about a shortage of resources," Whelan said, "is it more than $9 million?"
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Nigel Duara can be reached at www.twitter.com/nigelduara
Letter to the Editor Sunday, Sept. 18
ReplyDeleteBull Run fire danger
The Sept. 14 article "Agency gets grilling for Dollar Lake fire decision" raises several important issues. But the subhead, "Lawmakers ask why the Forest Service delayed response to a wildfire near Portland's vulnerable water supply," is perhaps the most important.
The vulnerability is greatly exacerbated because of two key historical decisions. One, the city decided not to install a filtration system because of cost; and two, restrictive management decisions were imposed on the Forest Service by the city and many pseudo-environmentalists. Those decisions preclude appropriate vegetation management within the watershed that would reduce the risk of wildfire, and the subsequent impact on water quality.
Vegetation management, including logging and prescribed fire, is critical to maintaining a healthy ecosystem that protects water quality. Yes, a filtration system is expensive, but provision of high-quality water to nearly a million people warrants such an investment.
Ken Snell, the Forest Service's regional director of fire, fuels and aviation management, is absolutely correct that "a large fire on the Bull Run will come in time." Properly designed and implemented management of this spectacular ecosystem can minimize the likelihood of catastrophic wildfires that will affect water quality.
Instead of criticizing the Forest Service, it's time to take the steps to manage the magnificent Bull Run ecosystem for long-term sustainability.
ROBERT T. MEURISSE
Tigard
Right. While Firefighters are still out there on the mountain, risking their lives, and while the outcome of the firefighting is still unknown, we have Politician Greg Walden ignorantly jumping in and diverting firefighting efforts to writing up justifications of strategies for a congressman's political grandstanding. Can't the politicians at least wait until the fire is out until they start campaigning?
ReplyDelete