Why Idaho’s Silver Valley is forested again

Ed Pommerening, 1947-2022
by Jim Petersen, Editor, The Evergreen Foundation

When Ed Pommerening died last Christmas Eve in Kellogg, Idaho he left a forestry legacy that is unmatched in Idaho history. I grew up in Kellogg and knew Ed mostly by reputation. We last talked by phone in 1996. I was in the middle manuscripts for an Evergreen edition featuring forests and forestry in Idaho and I wanted to include a short story about the miraculous rebirth of forests on the barren hills of my youth.

Ed is the reason Idaho’s Silver Valley between Smelterville and Big Creek is covered with countless thousands of conifers, many of them 50 feet tall. It is a stunning tribute to the dogged determination of a young man who once told me that the Kellogg he saw for the first time in 1972 reminded him of the godawful agent orange devastation he’d seen while serving with the 101st Airborne Rangers in South Vietnam.

That young man was Ed Pommerening. He was coming to Kellogg then to begin work as the Bunker Hill Company’s first forester. “Uncle Bunker” was by far Idaho’s largest industrial employer, the Union Pacific Railroad’s largest customer by tonnage, and the largest power consumer in the entire Washington Water Power system. At one time, Bunker Hill was the largest mining and smelting company in North America. It supplied most the lead we threw at the Germans and Japanese during the Second World War.

I worked my way through college in company stopes a mile beneath the streets of Kellogg. It was dangerous as hell — but great fun. I have no idea what convinced Ed that he could turn the Silver Valley’s barren hills green again — or how he convinced the company to invest in the crazy idea that he could grow countless thousands of seedlings 3,000 feet down in the mine, but in August 1975 company carpenters built Ed’s first 40-foot long underground greenhouse. One of my late father’s plumbing crews ran the water lines.

The scale of Ed’s thinking was breathtaking but the idea was not new. Many miners grew vegetables in pots in pitch black drifts with only the illumination of a single lightbulb. The air temperature was a constant 72 degrees, so all you had to add was some soil, water from a nearby drill line, a little light, and voila! It certainly helped that Ed had earned two forestry degrees from the University of Idaho. His connections would prove invaluable after his first seedlings died soon after they were transplanted on treeless hills by high school kids and civic groups.

The same thing had happened to seedlings my Cub Scout pack planted in Vergobbi Gulch in the 1950s. We never knew why, but soil scientists at the University of Idaho figured out that sulfur dioxide gas released from stacks at the Bunker smelter had polluted the soil. Acid was killing the seedlings. The solution: plant them deeper and add a dash of neutralizing potash for good measure. The beautiful result graces both sides of Interstate 90 between Smelterville and Big Creek:  Ponderosa, Scotch and Austrian pine, Douglas-fir, western larch, western white pine, blue spruce, willow, and poplar.

The homesteader’s apple orchard behind our home on Mission Avenue has given way to a sea of green that turns to gold in the fall. Words seem inadequate.

A very good case can be made for the fact that the Silver Mountain Resort and Ski Area and its legendary gondola are prospering today because of Ed Pommerening’s modesty and quiet determination. Small wonder that his forestry consulting business, Riverview Timber Services, thrived for decades.

The Kellogg where I grew up is long gone: the smelter whistles that announced shift changes, the friends I made underground, Al Laramie at the piano on Friday nights at the old Sunshine Inn, and the vibrancy of Kellogg’s booming economy. We thought Bunker would go on forever. For better or worse, it didn’t. The end came in 1981. Labor strife and unattainable federal air and water quality standards were the main reasons. But Ed’s vision provided the catalyst for Kellogg’s rebirth.

The power of forestry turned the barren hills of my youth green again and my hometown has a future. There is a bronze statue of a miner at the corner of Main and McKinley Avenue in uptown Kellogg. There needs to be one of Ed standing beside him.

~ Jim Petersen, Editor
EvergreenMagazine.com


WATCH THE VIDEO:
The Reforestation of Silver Valley is a fascinating story told by Ed Pommerening and others about an industry that took the initiative to solve a major environmental problem in northern Idaho. The video was funded by the Kootenai-Shoshone County Farm Bureau and Idaho Farm Bureau and was produced by Matthew Bane. Watch it [HERE].

 

Firefighter dies on Moose Fire

Near Challis, Idaho

On Thursday September 22 the Forest Supervisor of the Salmon-Challis National Forest released a statement about the September 20 death of Gerardo Rincon who passed away while assigned to the Moose Fire in Idaho:


It is with immense sorrow that we share the news of the passing of Gerardo Rincon of North Reforestation Inc. Gerardo suffered a medical emergency during the early morning hours of September 20th. He was a crew boss of a Type 2 crew that was assigned to the Moose Fire.

Gerardo served as a wildland firefighter since 1994. During his 28-year career he was a Type 2 firefighter, engine captain, and crew boss. He was highly recognized for his performance by his employers and crew members enjoyed working for him during many fire assignments.

Tragedies of this nature serve as a reminder of the honorable work and sacrifices made by women and men like Gerardo. They commit themselves daily to supporting and protecting communities around the country.

Our condolences go out to the entire Rincon family, their co-workers at North Reforestation Inc., and the firefighting community, their friends, and all those who knew and loved them. We are beyond grateful for their years of dedication and service to the wildfire community.

The Forest is working closely with the incident management team and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation to return Gerardo to his home in Oregon early Saturday morning, September 24th. There will be a procession from the Jones and Casey Funeral Home though downtown Salmon and to the Lemhi County Airport beginning at 9:00 am.

A viewing is scheduled for Wednesday, September 28th at the Farnstrom’s Mortuary in Independence, Oregon from 5-8 pm. A funeral mass will occur on September 29th at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church followed by a burial at Hilltop Cemetery.

/s/ Charles A. Mark
Forest Supervisor

(end of statement)


North Reforestation wrote on their Facebook page that Mr. Rincon’s remains will arrive on Flight 802 at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Corvallis Municipal Airport, 5695 SW Airport Ave, Corvallis, OR. They wrote, “If anyone wants to be part of the procession on this Saturday as Gerardo arrives in Oregon, it will start at the airport and end at Farnstroms.”

North Reforestation is based in Monmouth, Oregon, just west of Independence.

The Moose Fire which started July 17, received rain Wednesday and Thursday. It has burned more than 130,000 acres northwest of Challis, Idaho.

Our sincere condolences go out to the family, friends, and coworkers of Mr. Rincon.

 

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom and Pete.

Fire in Incident Command Post office tent

Arson is suspected

Tent Fire at incident command post
Tent ignites at 3:30 am. at the Kootenai River Complex in Idaho.

What do you do if a large tent at the Incident Command Post catches fire in the middle of the night when people are sleeping inside?

It happened September 12 on the Kootenai River Complex near Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Tents used as offices at an ICP are frequently called “yurts.” In this case at 3:30 a.m. the two workers inside were able to evacuate safely.

The Rapid Lesson Sharing report, below, says arson is suspected. The Incident Management Team developed some ICP fire mitigation measures that other teams may find useful.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://wildfiretoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Kootenai-River-Complex-Yurt-Fire-RLS-Final.pdf” title=”Yurt fire Kootenai River Complex – Yurt Fire RLS Final”]


Updated 1:31 p.m. MDT September 17, 2022

Doug Forster pointed out in a comment below that an arrest has been made.

A quick look at seven fires in the Central Idaho area

Map of fires, central Idaho, Sept. 9, 2022
Map of fires in central Idaho, Sept. 9, 2022.

With 35 large uncontained wildfires currently burning in the United States, and many, many more in various categories, we can’t report extensively on all of them, so today we will take a slice of geography and look briefly at seven fires spreading in the Central Idaho area, and extend it just a bit into Oregon and Montana.

Moose (Idaho)
The largest of these seven fires is the Moose, which has been chewing through eastern Idaho since July 17. As far as the cause, the Salmon National Forest says, after almost two months, it is “human caused,” which only eliminates the causes of volcano and lightning. Nine structures have been destroyed. On Friday 650 personnel are assigned to the 125,000-acre blaze which is 5 miles northwest of Salmon, ID. A satellite overflight Friday afternoon only found large heat sources in the southeast portion and that is where an additional 15,000 acres burned Wednesday night, prompting evacuations near Salmon.

Crews reengaged the fire and began preparing new contingency lines along the west edge of the city. Several water pumps, five log decks, and some portable water storage tanks (nicknamed pumpkins because of their shape and color) were destroyed Wednesday.  No firefighters were injured. Nearly 500 acres of the city’s Municipal Watershed burned that night, something the various incident management teams had been trying to protect since July.

Cooler temperatures, higher relative humidity, and thick smoke contributed to minimal fire behavior across the fire Thursday.

Indian Ridge (Idaho)
Northwest of the Moose Fire near the Montana border is the lightning-caused 8,670-acre Indian Ridge Fire on the Bitterroot National Forest. It is in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness 30 miles southwest of Darby, Montana. The fire has been active this week primarily along the western and northern flanks and north of Indian Creek as it burns through steep, rugged, remote terrain with heavy surface fuels and dead standing timber.

Indian Ridge Fire
Indian Ridge Fire the night of August 18, 2022. InciWeb.

The fire is not being fully suppressed. Their daily reporting says, “Fire managers are utilizing a point protection strategy to prevent any critical wilderness infrastructure from being negatively impacted by the fire.”

Dismal and Patrol Point
These two fires are very close to merging after significant growth since September 6, and combined have burned an estimated 23,000 acres. They are about 50 miles northwest of Salmon, Idaho. Smoke and the unavailability of infrared mapping aircraft have made it difficult to determine the current perimeters, but there is a lot of new burned acreage between the two fires. Recent low humidity and strong winds are in part responsible for the recent growth.

Areas that fire managers intend to protect include Cold Meadows Guard Station, Root Ranch, and Lantz Bar.

Fire personnel on the Williams Creek Fire
Fire personnel on the Williams Creek Fire in Idaho. InciWeb, posted 9-8-2022.

Williams Creek
The 11,881-acre fire is 5 miles west of Orogrande, near Wildhorse Lake, 7 miles southwest of Elk City, and 8 miles north-northwest of Dixie.

“Resources will continue to engage the fire in Orogrande and the Crooked River corridor, addressing and extinguishing hot spots and conducting damage assessments,” said a September 9 update from the Incident Management Team. “The fire and associated winds did impact structures and outbuildings; crews are still assessing the extent of the damage. Fallen trees, burned snags, and downed power lines continue to present safety hazards.”

Double Creek (Oregon)
The 137,000-acre lightning-caused Double Creek Fire is in Oregon just west of the Idaho border. It has burned to the Snake River in the Pittsburg Landing area. A River Group has been established to assess and protect structures along the waterway. The fire is being fully suppressed and crews are looking for locations to establish the control line farther from Lower Imnaha Road where topography allows. Two structures have been destroyed.

Trail Ridge (Montana)

The 13,000-acre Trail Ridge fire is on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Western Montana about 5 miles east of the Idaho Border and 4 miles southeast of Sula, MT. The cooler weather experienced Thursday and Friday was helpful in slowing the spread of the fire and decreasing the severity of fire behavior. It is burning above 7,000 feet elevation near the Continental Divide and there is no current or expected threat to private land and property. It is not being fully suppressed.

Four Corners Fire burns more than 10,000 acres near Lake Cascade in Idaho

24 air miles south of McCall

12:21 p.m. MDT August 28, 2022

Four Corners Fire 3-D map
Four Corners Fire 3-D map, looking northwest at 5:12 a.m. PDT Aug. 28, 2022.

The Four Corners Fire 24 air miles south of McCall, Idaho grew by about 1,000 acres Saturday as winds gusting up to 33 mph from a cold front caused more intense burning. The blaze is near the southeast side of Lake Cascade and Saturday night was about 0.3 miles from the shore and about 0.1 mile from Old State Highway/W. Mountain Road.

In spite of challenging winds and smoke, firefighters reported good progress in building firelines on the western and northern sides on Saturday. Crews constructing handline have reached Wilson Peak from the west side and will continue progressing to the east directly along the fire perimeter as long as it is safe, as they evaluate additional actions to limit the spread.

Four Corners Fire map
Four Corners Fire map 5:12 a.m. PDT Aug. 28, 2022.

On Sunday, crews will continue to maintain structure protection efforts on the east side. To the south, fire managers expect little fire spread to the west. Calmer winds will prevail across the area with drier conditions and light southwest winds up to 10 mph. Sunday and Monday fire activity is expected to be slower due to cooler temperatures in the 70s with light winds. Starting Tuesday fire activity will increase as temperatures and stronger winds gradually increase, peaking on Thursday. Fire managers expect critical fire weather conditions by the end of week.

Evacuations are in effect. The Valley County Sheriff’s Office has the details.

Helicopter drops on the Four Corners Fire
A helicopter drops on the Four Corners Fire in Idaho, Aug. 24, 2022. InciWeb

Civilian use of drone delays firefighting efforts in North Idaho

single engine air tanker drops on the Moyie Fire
A single engine air tanker drops on the Moyie Fire August 21, 2022 near Moyie Springs, Idaho. Photo by Idaho Department of Lands.

Firefighters on the ground battling the Moyie Fire had to wait on aircraft support because a civilian drone was being flown in the area August 21 near Moyie Springs.

Aircraft ordered for the fire could not immediately fly because of the drone.

“The residents of approximately 50 homes in Moyie Springs were notified of the fire and the potential need for evacuation,” said Josh Harvey, Idaho Department of Lands  Fire Bureau Chief. “Clearly, we needed to get air support for the firefighting effort as soon as possible and the drone put that on hold. Unfortunately this type of situation is not uncommon. We are reminding the public that drones can put firefighters, homes, and resources at risk.”

After the drone was gone, multiple firefighting aircraft went to work attacking the fire repeatedly while ground crews constructed a fire control line using hand tools. The fire was kept to three acres.

It is very dangerous to fly a civilian drone near a fire at which helicopters or fixed wing aircraft are operating. A collision could impact the windscreen or damage the engine, props, rotors, or flight control surfaces, causing a crash. If a drone is seen near a fire the standard operating procedure is to remove all aircraft from the fire area until it is confirmed that the drone has left the scene. In other words, it interferes with firefighting efforts.

It’s a federal crime punishable by up to 12 months in prison to interfere with firefighting efforts on public lands. Additionally, Congress has authorized the FAA to impose a civil penalty of up to $20,000 against any drone pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement, or emergency response operations. The FAA treats these violations seriously, and will immediately consider swift enforcement action for these offenses.