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Run, fly or burrow — how animals cope with wildfire A yearling bear comes calling while Team C81 of the Oregon Army National Guard stops for lunch during firefighting efforts on the west side of the Chetco Bar fire, at the fork of Pistol and Farmer creeks. [Photo submitted Sept. 16 by Christian Chase Crimmins] Friday Sep 22, 2017 at 5:26 PM Sep 22, 2017 at 5:40 PM By Annette McGee Rasch for the Mail Tribune Oregon's native animals evolved in concert with the wildfires that have defined this region for millennia — and many thrive after the rains quiet the flames, biologists say. Some animals don't wait that long. Hawks hunt the leading edges of active fires to snatch up fleeing rodents, and herons yank toasted lizards out of still-warm blackened soils. And later on, black-backed woodpeckers, who live primarily in burn scars, forage for beetles under the bark of scorched trees. But while birds can fly off when fire rearranges their world, how do other animals fare? "Just like people move out of the way of fire, so do animals," says Bobbie Filbert, a U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist assigned to the Checto Bar fire. She says heat, smoke and noise associated with wildfire likely prompts them to run. "Unless a fire is moving extremely fast, for the most part, they can get away," she says. "Though some young animals and smaller animals die. But some reptiles, amphibians and rodents survive by burrowing underground or digging into old snags." Social-media reports seem to indicate more bear sightings than usual in the wake of this season's wildfires. "It's one of those things, when people see bears during wildfires, they'll blame it on the fire, but we see bears getting into conflict with people whether we have fires or not," says Mark Vargas, a wildlife biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Central Point. "There's just a lot of bears in Southern Oregon." Filbert says some bears may come down in elevation when fires rage in the mountains. "When there's a lot of smoke, it's probably going to keep many bears on the move," she says. When bears do move through the area, give them room, says Dave Siddon, executive director of Merlin-based Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center. "Don't block them, don't befriend them and stay out of their way." Siddon says bears typically are shy, but also "opportunistic." If food is easy to access, they'll lose their natural fear and become habituated to humans in close proximity — pretty much signing their own death warrant. So if a bear starts hanging around, bang some pots together from a safe distance. "It seems like common sense is becoming uncommon," Siddon says. "If there's any encouragement, bears will be happy to move into your neighborhood. Bears are very resourceful and they're extremely strong. So keep windows rolled up tight on cars, because if they smell snacks in there, they'll tear your car up. Move your trash barrels into the garage and put the dog food inside." Filbert also hopes people will keep their properties cleaned up, especially in the wildland-urban interface zones. "This is where the species exist," she says. "Bears and other displaced animals will keep moving through if there's nothing for them. They'll find their space. And hopefully, they'll move back onto their old territories. If the fire burned an old logged area and cleaned up some of the slash, there may be more opportunities for shrub species and berry-producing plants to emerge." "There's an immediate loss of habitat in the short term that will displace some species," Vargas says, "but overall we're hoping for positive outcomes. Letting nature get back to the way it's supposed to be. With fire and regrowth, and then fire again and more regrowth." — Reach Cave Junction freelance writer Annette Rasch at [email protected].