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.)
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