Governor proclaims

May 4-10,2008

Wildfire Awareness Week

Wildfire Awareness Week Guest Opinion

Offered by Oregon’s Wildfire

STATE OF OREGON

PROCLAMATION

 OFFICE OF THE Governor

WHEREAS:   Wildfires increasingly threaten homes and communities; and

WHEREAS:   The number, size and intensity of wildfires continue to challenge efforts to protect citizens, property and our natural resources; and

WHEREAS:   Each year, more people move into the wildland-urban interface areas, creating a greater need for information at both the community and individual homeowner levels; and

WHEREAS:   Backyard debris burning is the leading human behavior that causes wildfires that are typically started on small parcels of land by the landowner; and

WHEREAS:  These human-caused wildfires are preventable; and

WHEREAS:  Providing the communities and the individual homeowners with information and tools as to how they can manage their debris burning will more effectively prevent wildfires and protect their properties; and

WHEREAS:  The Keep Oregon Green Association and local, state and federal wildfire agencies in Oregon are working together to prevent wildfires; and

WHEREAS:  All Oregonians share the responsibility for preventing wildfires;

NOW

THEREFORE:   I, Theodore Kulongoski, Governor of the State of Oregon, hereby proclaim the week of May 4-10, 2008 to be

Wildfire Awareness Week

in Oregon and encourage all Oregonians to join in this observance.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand and cause the Great Seal of the State of Oregon to be affixed. Done at the Capitol in the City of Salem in the State of Oregon on this day, April 14, 2008.

Theodore R. Kulongoski, Governor

Bill Bradbury, Secretary of State

Awareness Week committee

2008 is the fourth consecutive year that Gov. Kulongoski has declared May 4-10 as “Wildfire Awareness Week.” This week is set aside each spring to remind everyone that we live in a beautiful, but high wildfire risk state.

Living here comes with a price. And if we’re going to “Keep Oregon Green,” we need to do a better job of acting responsibly when living in or recreating in the forests or rangelands. And speaking of being responsible, backyard debris burning, which includes burn piles and burn barrels, is the leading careless human behavior that causes wildfires in Oregon (273 fires burned 1,828 acres in 2007).

Spring is the perfect time to remove dead vegetation and limb up trees to reduce the threat from wildfire. By following a few simple steps to get rid of brush and yard debris, we can all rest a bit easier. The Keep Oregon Green Association recommends chipping your debris. But if you must burn, do so responsibly.

Before burning, check with the local fire district to see if a burning permit is required.

In many rural areas, pile burning and burn barrels is a viable way to get rid of debris – tree branches, brush cuttings, needles and leaves. And with proper site preparation and forethought, people can burn this sort of debris with reasonable safety.

Choose a site where flames, radiant heat and airborne embers won’t set nearby vegetation on fire. Horizontal clearance should be twice the height of the pile. This fire trail should be scraped to mineral soil to prevent the fire from traveling outside the pile. Vertical clearance needs to be at least three times the height of the pile. A burning pile of tree branches will send visible flames several feet into the air above the pile, but the invisible heat influence will go up even higher. Make sure there are no overhanging tree branches and no power lines anywhere above the pile.

Keep burn piles small, and make sure that your burn barrel has adequate ventilation and a one-fourth-inch mesh screen cover. Put the smallest twigs and branches – which will ignite quickly - on the bottom of the pile. Keep leaves, needles and bark in an adjacent pile so they can be added to the burning pile after a vigorous heat source has been created. It is illegal to burn plastic, tires and just about anything else that isn’t from a tree or shrub.

Never burn on windy days. Make sure that your charged garden hose reaches all the way around the burn site. Keep the perimeter hosed down during the burning process. Also, park a shovel near to where you’ll be burning.

Taking the time to plan an open burning project and equipping yourself with basic fire suppression tools before lighting the match will dramatically reduce the chance of a burn pile fire getting out of control.

For more information on safe debris burning and other important wildfire prevention tips, visit www.keeporegongreen.org, or call 503-945-7499.

###

Tom Fields is a member of the Wildfire Awareness Week steering committee and a public affairs officer for Douglas Forest Protective Association, 541-672-6507. Mary Ellen Holly is chair of Oregon Wildfire Awareness Week 2008 and president of the Keep Oregon Green Association, 503-945-7499. Brian Ballou is a wildfire educator with Oregon Dept. of Forestry, 541-665-0662. Rod Nichols is an information officer with the Department, 503-945-7425.

(click image for  more information)

Events occurring during Wildfire Awareness Week:

• May 4-10:  Governor Ted Kulongoski designates May 4-10 as “Wildfire Awareness Week” in Oregon with a Proclamation. The Proclamation and an editorial promoting safe-debris burning has been sent to all daily and weekly newspapers across the state.

• Wildfire Home Awareness contest kicks off in 12 northwestern counties of Oregon.  Sponsored by state and local fire officials as well as other public and private organizations, the WHA contest aims to encourage homeowners in the wildland/urban interface areas to make their properties more fire safe before the 2008 wildfire season.  Go to www.oregon.gov/odf for more information.

• Tillamook Forest Center will feature a safe-debris burning display with alternatives to burning.  A fire-resistant plant display will feature trees, shrubs and plants that can be planted around the home to decreases the intensity of wildfire.

• Boring Fire District Main Station
  BBQ; food, fun, music
  Fire resistive plants display
  May 3, 4–10 p.m.
  Bring Hot Rods, Motorcycles, and/or Collectable Cars to show
  Dinner $10 for adults; $5 for kids
  Alice Lasher
  sfd72fmo@hotmail.com
  503-668-2728

• Newberg Fire Department’s 18^th Annual Pancake Breakfast
  Sunday, May 4
  Main Fire Station
  City’s Master Gardener will explain and sell fire-resistive plants
  Safe burn-barrel and debris burning information will be available

• Jackson County Expo Center
  Southern Oregon Public Safety Expo and Emergency Vehicle Show
  May 10, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
  Central Point
  Sponsored by Rogue Valley’s Fire Prevention Cooperative and Fire Chiefs’ Association
  Wildland/Urban Interface protection around the home will be featured.

• Oregon Department of Forestry, North Cascade District, will give demos with fire-resistive plants throughout their district.

• ODF, Astoria District, will distribute coasters to local eating and drinking establishments to promote safe debris burning.

• Television and radio media spots will be shown and heard statewide to promote safe debris burning.  Television spokesperson is Peter Jacobson, pro-golfer and radio spokesperson is Mary Ellen Holly, Pres/CEO of Keep Oregon Green Association and chair of the Wildfire Awareness Week steering committee.

• In addition, Mary Ellen’s interviews with KBBR will be heard in the Coos Bay, North Bend areas; KBND in the Central Oregon areas; KKNU in the Eugene/Springfield areas.

• Brian Ballou’s (ODF, Medford) interview with KCMX will be heard in the Medford/Grants pass areas.

• Safe-debris burning spots with KATU’s Grant McOmie and  Fox’s Dave Schmitke will be presented by Malcolm Hiatt, ODF, Forest Grove.

• Fire Resistive Plants:
  A small ad with the fire-resistant poster and an article appeared in a supplement to the Better Homes and Garden’s “Big John’s Speedway Fans” April issue.  This reaches 10,000 readers.

• Oregon Association of Nurseries featured information about fire-resistive plants in their April electronic newsletter that reaches over 8,000 wholesale and retail nurseries in Oregon and Washington.

• 250 fire-resistive plant books were sent to 250 retail nurseries in Oregon.

In the wildfire-prone West, landscaping around a rural home was once considered an either-or proposition: It could be attractive or it could afford protection against fire, but not both. Fire prevention specialists routinely recommended planting trees and shrubs well away from the house and trimming them close. This approach to creating defensible space acquired the unflattering label, "moonscaping" for the stark appearance it created.

More recently, in-depth research into large wildfires that had passed through or near wildland-urban interface communities showed that landscape vegetation of the appropriate species planted in a proper pattern actually acted as a buffer to spare homes from encroaching flames.

Trees as thermal shield

Trees, it was found, serve as a thermal shield to prevent a flame front from heating house siding to the ignition point. However, the conventional wisdom still holds in one important aspect: Branches should be pruned periodically so they don't hang over the roof. That way, if a tree does catch fire, it will not carry flame to the structure. In particular, limbs should be pruned at least 10 feet away from chimneys.

Spacing trees wide apart in the wildland-urban interface has long been recommended as the way to prevent a fire from moving treetop to treetop and igniting a structure. While this "crowning" can be a concern, the key to combating it is to prevent fire from getting into the tree crowns in the first place. Pruning the lower limbs and also trimming shrubs down to a moderate height will interrupt the "fuel ladder" that could otherwise enable a ground fire to climb into the trees. Regularly maintaining a tree so that it is free of dead material will make it much less susceptible overall to fire.

Statistically, trees in an interface setting rarely damage structures by carrying fire to them. Most often, it is tiny embers cast by the wildfire that do the damage.

Fire-resistant shrubs form fire buffer

Homeowners typically select landscaping plants for their appearance and ease of care. But some common varieties, notably ornamental juniper, greatly increase fire risk to structures because of their high flammability. Conversely, fire-resistant species planted around a home can function as a buffer against encroaching flame.

As beautiful as they are practical, these fire-resistant groundcovers, shrubs and trees do not significantly contribute to the fuel load and, therefore, a fire's intensity. A booklet, "Fire-Resistant Plants for Home Landscapes," published by the Pacific Northwest Extension office, has color photos of the most common species as well as tips on planting. It is available as an online publication, http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/pnw/pnw590/, and a hard copy of the 48-pp. publication can be ordered from the site as well.

These fire-resistant species must be planted in an appropriate pattern to assure their effectiveness. Through illustrations and descriptions, the booklet recommends how best to configure the plantings to block intense heat from reaching structures.

Maintaining the plants in healthy condition will maximize their fire-buffering effect. It is important to water them adequately. And while most fire-resistant species tend not to produce dry, dead material, it is important to remove any dead leaves and twigs that accumulate. Fire-resistant plants are not fireproof - they can be damaged or even killed by wildfire. But if well maintained, they are certainly a much better landscaping option than was formerly available to homeowners.

Green lawn blocks ground fire

A well-watered lawn also figures into the structure-protection equation. It will block a ground fire from reaching the walls. On the flip side, a lawn left unmowed and allowed to dry up during the summer months is a potential racetrack for flames.

Bark mulch, a staple of home landscapers, can be a fire buffer or a fuel source, depending on how it is cared for. During periods of high wildfire danger, mulch should be kept moist. Gravel or decorative rock is a less flammable option to consider, and one that requires less maintenance. However, where Ponderosa or lodge pole pine is part of the landscaping, the shed needles can accumulate between the rocks and provide a fuel bed for wildfire.

Fire-resistant landscaping is a key element in the creation of defensible space around a home. But a homeowner should not stop there. Keeping rain gutters clear of accumulated debris, installing fire-resistant roofing, and ensuring decks and fencing will not carry fire to the structure are equally important steps to ensure that a home will be left standing after a wildfire passes through. More information can be found on the Keep Oregon Green Association's website at www.keeporegongreen.org. It also provides links to other sites with helpful tips on protecting a home from wildfire.

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