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Despite rain, fire season looms By Amber Fossen Ashland Daily Tidings With rain water pooling at curbsides, saturating both shoes and roots alike, it's hard to imagine that the fire season is just around the corner. But it is. In preparation for the 2003 fire season, officials are reducing burnable fuels within the Ashland Wildland-Urban Interface area which spans 2,625 acres. However, much work remains before the onset of dry summer months and fire fighting officials hope Ashland residents will take steps to prepare their homes for a possible repeat of last year's intense fire season. According to Ashland Fire and Rescue Chief Keith Woodley, 2,500 Ashland homes are located in high wildfire risk areas throughout the city. "One-third of the homes are in a high risk area," Woodley said. "You look at property values and you can put a price tag on that pretty quick." Both the Oregon Department of Forestry and AFR offer free home assessments to locate possible fire risks around homes. Fuel reduction work can then be contracted - a $242,000 National Fire Plan grant was established to cover some of the incurred costs by homeowners in the treatment and removal of burnable fuels on private lands - to eliminate potential risks before the fire season starts. "There are three elements that go into addressing the wildfire problem in Ashland and everywhere else and those three things are climate, topography and vegetation," Woodley said. "Vegetation is the one we've focused on." Approximately 200 acres designated as "high priority" have been treated through the grant and another 200 high priority acres remain. Chris Chambers, AFR wildfire fuels reduction coordinator, said there are several things to consider when preparing for the fire season. "People in the wildland interface should pay attention to the area 30 to 50 feet surrounding their homes," Chambers said. "That means if there is a fire, firefighters would be working in that area to defend homes." Chambers said residents on hillsides should consider clearing burnable shrubs and other fuels up to 100 feet from their homes since fires spread much more quickly on slopes. Residents should also remove dead vegetation such as pine needles and thin out small diameter trees. "Small trees are what we call fuel lighters. It's a way for fires to move from the ground into the surrounding canopy. Once a fire is in the canopy, it is very difficult to suppress," Chambers said. Windows and porches should also be considered when reducing fuels. Removing shrubs from windows reduces the possilbility of smoke damage and putting wire mesh underneath porches will keep burnable fuels like leaves from piling up. Wood piles should be removed if next to buildings. For a time, the 2002 fire season seemed irrepressible. In Oregon, nearly 500,000 acres were burned when lightning sparked the Biscuit Fire, which raged for 120 days causing $153 million in damages before it ceased smoldering. Other fires, including the Squire, Timbered Rock and Neil Rock fires, contributed to smoky skies, falling ash and massive damages to homes and wildlife. The more preparation for this fire season, the better. "Ashland residents and people everywhere need to adopt the mindset that fire season is coming," Woodley said. Woodley said it can cost upward of $1,000 to $1,500 to reduce fire fuels per acre. However, the grant provides most of the funding. The cost of reducing fire fuels depends on several factors including the method of disposal, the number of acres and how much fuel reduction is necessary. "It's (the grant) very useful because 90 percent of what needs to be done is not expensive," Woodley said. Granite Street resident Tim Tuttle was one of many Ashland residents who contacted AFR to reduce fire fuels from around his home. "The basic concern was to get a strip of land where they could get water to," Tuttle said, noting he had three acres treated. Tuttle said the 1950's Ashland Canyon Fire - which destroyed 4,500 acres - burned the area where his home is now located, prompting his decision to keep fire fuels at a minimum. "I just built my house and I was conscious of the fire danger so I put a slate roof on the house," he said. While all fires can't be suppressed, paying attention to fuels can reduce the potential for fires to start or get out of hand. To learn more about how to protect your home, contact the AFR at 482-2770 for a guide on how to manage wildfire risk or to set up a home assessment. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -