Firefighters are scouting for potential control lines on the Cedar Creek Fire in Western Oregon

11:20 a.m. PDT August 7, 2022

Cedar Creek Fire, mapped at 3:07 a.m. PDT Aug. 7, 2022
Cedar Creek Fire, looking east at 3:07 a.m. PDT Aug. 7, 2022

The Cedar Creek Fire on the Willamette National Forest in Western Oregon was very active when it was mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at about 10 p.m. Saturday, and also during a satellite overflight at 3 a.m. Sunday. Spot fires were observed 800 feet ahead of the main fire.

It has burned 1,822 acres since it started from a lightning strike August 1, one of 20 to 30 fires ignited by lightning that night. Most of it is burning on a plateau with a steep slope on the south side. The blaze is north of Highway 58, 14 air miles east of Oakridge, and 2 miles west of Waldo Lake.

Cedar Creek Fire, mapped at 3:07 a.m. PDT Aug. 7, 2022
Cedar Creek Fire, mapped at 3:07 a.m. PDT Aug. 7, 2022.

A Type 1 incident management team assumed command on August 5. Since then the team has been scouting for opportunities to safely engage the fire.

Currently there are no evacuations in effect.

Update at 11:57 a.m. PDT August 9 2022.
It turns out that there is a major error in the National Interagency Fire Center fire history database. In the map below we created using their data, the polygon shown as the 68,000-acre 1991 Warner Creek Fire is completely in error and does not exist at that scale or at that location. The polygon that was not identified in the NIFC database that we labeled as “Unknown fire name in the 1990s”, is actually the 8,900-acre Warner Creek Fire of 1991. We regret the error. This is not the first time we have seen gross errors in the NIFC fire history database, especially for Oregon, and causes us to question ever using it again.

Fire history near the Cedar Creek Fire

The 1996 Charlton Fire which burned 9,000 acres is 3 miles to the northeast on the north side of Waldo Lake.

Cedar Creek Fire Oregon 11 a.m. August 6, 2022
Cedar Creek Fire looking north at 11 a.m. August 6, 2022. InciWeb photo.

In the video below recorded Sunday morning, Operations Section Chief Kyle Cannon describes the current situation.

Suspected arsonist captured and tied to tree by locals

Updated at 12:06 p.m. PDT July 27, 2022

mapJ uly 25 arson fires in Southwest Oregon
General area of the July 25 arson fires in Southwest Oregon.

On Monday a Bureau of Land Management employee reported that a man was walking down a road igniting vegetation fires in a remote area about 25 miles northwest of Grants Pass, Oregon.

From the AP:

Ground crews, assisted by local residents, and three helicopters quickly got the two fires under control, Curry County Sheriff John Ward said.

Meanwhile, three local residents located the suspect walking on the road near the fires and detained him.

“It was reported that the suspect became very combative with the three residents and had to be tied to a tree to subdue him.,” Ward said in a statement. “An ambulance crew was asked to respond due to some injuries that the suspect apparently received from falling down.”

Smith was transported to Three Rivers Hospital in Grants Pass and once he was medically cleared, transported by US Forest Service law enforcement to the Curry County Jail and held on Reckless Burning and two counts of First-Degree Arson. There was also a Detention Warrant in effect out of Lane County for probation violation.

Trennon Ray Smith mug shot
Trennon Ray Smith. Lane County Sheriff’s Office.

Study confirms extreme wildfires of 2020 in Western Oregon were not unprecedented

satellite photo fires smoke Washington, Oregon, and California
GOES-17 photo of smoke from wildfires in Washington, Oregon, and California at 5:56 p.m. PDT Sept. 8, 2020. The photo was taken during a very strong wind event.

By U.S. Forest Service

When the 2020 Labor Day Fires torched more than 300,000 hectares over the span of two weeks in parts of western Oregon and Washington, they devastated communities and put the threat of west-side fires squarely into focus. A new study led by the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station examines the context surrounding the fires and offers insight into the historical role of large, high-severity fires—and the future of wildfires—west of the Cascades.

“Without a doubt, the 2020 Labor Day Fires were a significant fire event on many levels, and one that was a wake-up call for the region,” said Matthew Reilly, research forester and lead author of the study, which is published in the journal Ecosphere. “The goal of our study was to help understand how this event compared to past west-side fires so that we can help inform adaptation strategies aimed at preventing or mitigating similar events in the future.”

Drawing from a literature review, extensive historical data, and new analysis, Reilly and his co-authors explored five questions surrounding the 2020 Labor Day Fires: how the 2020 fires compared with historical fires in the region, the role of weather and climate, the effects of forest management and pre-fire forest structure on burn severity, the impacts of these fires on west-side landscapes, and what can be done to adapt to similar fires in the future. Ultimately, they found that the 2020 fires were remarkably consistent with historical fires on the west side, both in terms of their timing and size and the cause of their rapid spread—dry conditions combined with strong east winds.

“Our findings suggest that these severe fires are normal for west-side landscapes when you look at historical fire regimes at longer time scales,” Reilly said. In fact, the researchers identified similarly large historical fires in the early 20th century under similar weather conditions—some even burning right around Labor Day—in some of the same locations that burned in 2020.

Because of the abundant and productive forests characteristic of the west side and the driving role of extreme winds, conventional fire management tools used in dry forests, like prescribed burning and fuels management, will likely be less effective in west-side forests than they are on the east side. This is particularly the case, their study found, when fire weather conditions are as extreme as those witnessed during the 2020 fires.

“Our study indicates we need very different approaches and adaptation strategies in west-side forests compared to those we use in dry forests,” Reilly said.

The study was conducted as part of the Pacific Northwest Research Station’s ongoing West-side Fire Research Initiative, which was launched in 2019 to develop science-based tools to help resource managers respond to wildfire risk in west-side forests. The study’s coauthors are from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, University of Washington, Oregon State University, and USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region.

Highlights

  • The 2020 Labor Day Fires were much larger and more severe than others in the recent record, but they were remarkably consistent with many historical fires. Strong east winds and dry conditions are the common denominators in both large historical fires of the past and the 2020 fires.
  • Forest management and fuel treatments are unlikely to influence fire severity in the most extreme wind-driven fires, like the 2020 Labor Day Fires. Pre-fire forest structure, largely the result of previous forest management activities, had little effect on burn severity when east winds were strong during the 2020 fires.
  • Fuel treatments around homes and infrastructure may still be beneficial under low and moderate fire-weather conditions.
  • Adaptation strategies for similar fires in the future in west-side communities might, instead, focus on ignition prevention, fire suppression, and community preparedness.

More information:

Matthew J. Reilly et al, Cascadia Burning: The historic, but not historically unprecedented, 2020 wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, USA, Ecosphere (2022). DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4070

Wildfire Today, articles posted in September, 2020 tagged Oregon, or Washington.

Oregon Department of Forestry trains personnel on fire detection aircraft

Oregon Department of Forestry's Partenavia P 68 Observer (N9000V)
Oregon Department of Forestry’s Partenavia P 68 Observer (N9000V). ODF photo in 2022.

The Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) aviation unit held their annual multi-mission aircraft training May 16-20 in Salem, Oregon. This opportunity gave the department a chance to train personnel who will help with wildfire detection using the ODF-owned Partenavia P-68 Observer aircraft (N9000V).

The Partenavia is unusual — most of the “skin” on the aircraft in front of the pilot is transparent plexiglass, affording uncommonly good visibility. The plane has had many uses in the last 40 years, but its most recent function is as the platform for ODF’s nighttime fire detection work.  It is equipped with a Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) camera system that is paired with an augmented reality mapping system.

During fire season, the Partenavia will fly at night to detect wildfires started by lightning. During their time in the air, the observer, or camera operator, will look for hot spots using the infrared system on the belly of the plane.

Oregon Department of Forestry's Partenavia P 68 Observer (N9000V)
Oregon Department of Forestry’s Partenavia P 68 Observer (N9000V) at Ken Jernstedt Airpot, Hood River, Oregon June 28, 2006. USFS photo.

“The accuracy of the Partenavia’ s FLIR infrared camera system allows for the observer to detect fires as small as a campfire from 12,000 feet in the air,” Jamie Knight, Aviation Operations Specialist, said.  “Once a wildfire is detected, the observer can pin the location and alert nearby fire protection agencies so that they may quickly respond to the fire.”

Aside from detecting smaller fires, the Partenavia is also used as “eyes in the sky” for larger incidents. Once over the fire, the observer can provide a high-level view of a fire and report to the firefighters on the ground about the progress and any changes in fire behavior.

During the summer months, the aircraft is centrally based in Redmond to allow access to the entire state.

Oregon Department of Forestry's Partenavia P 68 Observer (N9000V)

Oregon Department of Forestry's Partenavia P 68 Observer (N9000V)
Oregon Department of Forestry’s Partenavia P 68 Observer (N9000V) with USFS forest pathologist Mike McWilliams at Roseburg Regional Airport, Oregon. June 28, 2013. USFS photo.
Oregon Department of Forestry's Partenavia P 68 Observer (N9000V)
Oregon Department of Forestry’s Partenavia P 68 Observer (N9000V) was prepared for a night fire detection mission in 2021. ODF photo.

Student wins CSPAN prize for creating wildland fire video

Linnea Gebauer prize winner CSPAN documentary competition
Linnea Gebauer, prize winner in CSPAN documentary competition.

C-SPAN announced that earlier this month that Linnea Gebauer, a 12th grade student at Klamath Union High School in Klamath Falls, Oregon, is a second prize winner in C-SPAN’s national 2022 StudentCam competition. Ms. Gebauer will receive $1,500 for the documentary, “Fire Season,” about the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. The competition, now in its 18th year, invited all middle and high school students to enter by producing a short documentary. C-SPAN, in cooperation with its cable television partners, asked students to explore a federal policy or program and address the theme: “How does the federal government impact your life?”

In response, more than 3,000 students across the country participated in the contest. C-SPAN received over 1,400 entries from 41 states, Washington, D.C., Morocco and South Korea.

In February we reported that Ms. Gebauer had entered the competition and included her video in the article. We wrote, “It is obvious that Linnea put a great deal of time and effort into research, planning, interviewing subject matter experts, and editing the dozens of clips into the finished product. Excellent job, Linnea!”

Here again is her video:

Several government officials recorded congratulatory videos for Ms. Gebauer, including National Park Service Division Chief for Fire and Aviation Management Bill Kaage and Oregon Governor Kate Brown.

High school student’s documentary about wildland fire

Linnea Gebauer
Linnea Gebauer. Still image from her documentary about wildland fire.

High school student, Linnea Gebauer submitted a video for the national C-SPAN StudentCam competition. The prompt from C-SPAN was, “How does the federal government impact your life?” She chose to talk about wildland fire.

Having created and edited videos, to me it is obvious that Linnea put a great deal of time and effort into research, planning, interviewing subject matter experts, and editing the dozens of clips into the finished product. Excellent job, Linnea!

StudentCam is C-SPAN’s annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think critically about issues that affect our communities and our nation.

This year the competition was open to students in grades 6-12. The submission deadline was Thursday, January 20, 2022. With cash prizes totaling $100,000 each year, C-SPAN awards prizes to the top 150 student documentaries and teachers that are identified as advisors.

New Fire and Emergency Management program at Clackamas Community College

Taylor Creek-Klondike Fires
Taylor Creek-Klondike Fires, Rogue Siskiyou NF, Oregon, August 11, 2018 by Kari Greer.

Celeste Prescott, Instructor and Project Manager for the Fire and Emergency Management program at Clackamas Community College near Portland, Oregon, sent us information about a new Emergency Management Professional program at the college. Registration for the first term closes December 15, 2021.

Clackamas Community College (CCC) is launching a new Emergency Management Professional (EMP), Associates of Applied Science (AAS), degree program. The first term starts January 3, 2022 and is being offered entirely online! 

CCC is aiming to help make this degree attainable for anyone interested in helping build a culture of preparedness and ready communities for catastrophic disasters. The program allows for students to take the full course load each term, or one class at a time. In addition, students can apply for up to 22 credits towards the degree for previously completed and approved wildland fire or FEMA courses. 

This degree program is being taught by highly qualified instructors who continue to be engaged in different facets of incident management, and it’s being offered at the low cost of $111 per credit hour. The program is designed to provide meaningful learning opportunities for current emergency management professionals as well as foundational skills for those just getting started.

CCC originally began teaching Emergency Management courses in 1996 and began offering Wildland Fire and Incident Command System (ICS) courses in 2006. Over the years the instructors have honed their skills in the classroom, while continuing to work in and grow their experience and knowledge in their respective fields of expertise.

The first term course offerings and details are listed below. Please follow the link at the end for additional information.

Registration for the first term closes on Dec 15, 2021. 

EMP Winter Term Offerings | January 3 – March 19, 2022 

EMP-201 Introduction to Homeland Security and Emergency Management 4 credits 

This course introduces Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) as a profession. The course begins with the historical context of HSEM and provides a foundation for the many disciplines within the field including threats and hazards analysis, hazard mitigation, emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. The course also provides an overview of current issues, policies, best practices, and lessons learned. 

Tuesdays from 6:00 – 9:20PM (PST) Virtually on Zoom. 

EMP-202 Threat and Hazard Assessment for Emergency Management Professionals 3 credits 

This course demonstrates the importance of risk reduction programs and the history of Threats and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA). Emergency management professionals must assess weaknesses and establish programs to reduce risks during preparedness for the whole community. This course will give students a basic understanding of risk management and risk prevention in emergency management. Thursdays from 6:00 – 9:20PM (PST) Virtually on Zoom. 

EMP-204 Foundations of Emergency Planning 4 credits 

In order for a community to be truly prepared to respond to any type of natural and/or man-made disaster, it must develop effective emergency planning. This course will introduce the multiple aspects of disaster planning. It explores the patterns of human disaster behavior, social psychology, and communication as well as the basics of generic planning actions, planning concepts, implementation, and action. Wednesdays from 6:00 – 9:20PM (PST) Virtually on Zoom. 

More information.

Questions, contact jeff.ennenga@clackamas.edu or  celeste.prescott@clackamas.edu