Official: Not enough firefighters to go around

Associated Press
September 5, 2006

Portland, Ore. (AP) - Short-handed fire crews fought a blaze Tuesday that began just before Labor Day near a popular recreation area on the west side of Oregon's Cascade Range, a state official said.

As of Tuesday, the Middle Fork fire along the Middle Santiam River had 442 people at work: 16 fire crews, 10 engines, six helicopters and seven bulldozers and six more crews were expected Wednesday, officials said. Most crews have 20 firefighters.

An Oregon Department of Forestry official said he'd like 100 firefighters beyond that.

"There are just too many fires across the Northwest right now and not enough private contractors," said Mike Barsotti of the department's office in Sweet Home told the Albany Democrat-Herald. "They try to coordinate efforts between other states and prioritize the different fires, but we're coming up a little short right now."
 

Jeree Mills, a spokeswoman for the regional dispatching agency, the Northwest Interagency Coordinating Center, said Monday that several factors were cutting into resources: the withdrawal of a military unit from Washington state, unfavorable weather and college students leaving fire crews for the fall term.

As of Tuesday morning, the center listed seven major fires in Oregon and 10 in Washington state, which has had bigger fires this season than in Oregon.

A 500-acre fire near Joseph in northeastern Oregon was added to the list Tuesday, said another center spokeswoman, Lori Hammer.

The center considers a fire major if it reaches 100 acres in timber or 300 acres in range. There are 640 acres in a square mile.

There is a major fire at Crater Lake National Park. But park officials have managed it lightly as a benefit to the park's resources and a way of reducing fuels for fires in future seasons.

Hammer said Oregon's fire season is about average for the number of fire starts, but above the 10-year average for acreage burned.

Statistics from Oregon state officials indicated more fires than in the 10-year average, but less acreage. The state department tracks smaller fires, so the figures aren't directly comparable.

The Middle Fork fire prompted the evacuation of several hundred people from the Green Peter Dam and reservoir area and the nearby Quartzville Corridor. Officials said 3,000 to 4,000 people might have been in the area on a typical holiday weekend.

On Tuesday, firefighters hoped to complete a five-mile line around the fire, a job they started Monday and found to be heavy going.

"Imagine bulldozing through a rock jetty to make a fire line," said fire information officer Dave Wells. "That's about what we're up against."

Wells said containment could be more than a week away.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)