Area moves to 'High' Fire Danger

Both the Willamette National Forest and local Oregon Dept. of Forestry lands have changed their Fire Danger warnings from ‘moderate’ to ‘high’. On July 4th, the ODF change impacted approximately 1.9 million acres of state, private, county and Bureau of Land Management lands in Lane, Linn and portions of Douglas County. The National Forest moved from an Industrial Fire Precaution Level I to IFPL II on July 5th.

Officials cautioned that any spark could have the potential to start a wildfire. Dry conditions in the districts make it that much easier for a fire to catch and spread. Residents and travelers, thay say, need to be vigilant when it comes to wildfire prevention. This means not parking over dried grass, responsible and legal use of fireworks, recreating responsibly and following local restrictions.

The primary difference between prior fire pre-vention restrictions and those begun on Tuesday affects the public use of power-driven equipment, such as chain saws, mowers, weed eaters, and more. The use of power-driven equipment, grinding, cutting of metal, and other spark-emitting equipment, such as wood splitters and generators, will be prohibited between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. This does not apply to mowing green lawns.

Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) II – The following may operate only between the hours of 8 p.m. and 1 p.m.:

* Power saws except at loading sites

* Feller-bunchers with rotary head saws

* Cable yarding

* Blasting

* Welding, cutting, or grinding of metal.

“We want the public to be extra prepared when visiting the forest and be mindful of the drier weather conditions,” said Eric Miller, Acting Fire Staff Officer for the Northwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management Organization. “There are no fireworks allowed on National Forest lands and would appreciate the public’s support to help us prevent human-caused fire starts.”

There are currently no public use restrictions in place for fire, but Forest Service officials urge everyone to exercise caution while recreating.