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CLEAR Temp: 50 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 26, 2002 Wildfires hinder safe hunting zones Commentary By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Boulders knocked easily from a fire-scorched hill can tumble with quiet thumps down a ravine like bowling balls toward human pins below. Patches of dirt cloaked in white ash may appear like safe pathways around burned stumps, but they can be trapdoors to danger. And a charred snag pushed free by a slight breeze may make no sound until it hits the ground — or someone standing under it. "You don’t hear them when they’re falling," says Dennis Turco of the Oregon Department of Forestry. "They’re silent killers." They also are reasons why it may make little sense for hunters to stalk black-tailed deer within some of Southern Oregon’s wildfire zones during the upcoming rifle season, which opens Saturday across the state. The islands of unburned forests within the boundaries of Jackson County’s three large summer wildfires likely will contain unnaturally dense herds of deer and elk taking refuge from the scorched lands around them. Hunters looking to mine those islands will have to trek through the once-inflamed woods to get there. And they will face many of the dangers firefighters encounter, but without the training and experience to recognize and steer clear of them. That makes hunting amid wildfire areas too hot a prospect for all the wrong reasons. "Go somewhere else," says Ken Cummings of Boise Corp., which owns about 20,000 acres within the Timbered Rock fire that burned in the heavily hunted forests of the South Dixon unit near Trail. "There are deer around, but there’s way too much activity in those fire areas for hunters to be in," Cummings says. "That’s probably not a good place to go hunting." Some of the county’s most popular blacktail hunting areas either burned during the state’s worst fire season in more than a decade or remain so hot and dry that they are still a wildfire threat. State and federal land managers have issued tight restrictions for people entering local forests this fall, while many public and private forests throughout the state are closed entirely because of wildfire danger. The Forest Service has closed areas within the 500,000-acre Biscuit fire in Josephine County, but the agency is beginning to open some access roads such as Bear Camp through the Siskiyou National Forest. In other fire areas, much of the private and Bureau of Land Management lands traditionally open to hunters remain open, largely for walk-in access only. These include the Timbered Rock fire, the Squire fire near Ruch and the East Antelope fire near Grizzly Peak. Those entering these areas may encounter more firefighters than big game. Crews are still out quenching hot spots or working on early rehabilitation efforts. During most autumns, the main focus is on fire-prevention measures meant to protect the forest from hunters. But this year, there’s a great need to protect hunters from the woods. "Public safety in these areas is a huge concern right now," Turco says. Hunters should not park in areas where there are standing fire-killed trees, and they should avoid walking through destroyed timber stands, especially during windy periods. Branches or entire snags can fall amid little breeze or ground disturbance. Often, the trees have flame-damaged roots that offer little or no support. Pathways that look safe often are not. Intense fire can disintegrate entire trees or stumps as well as their root systems. That leaves unstable soil pockets that can easily collapse, causing victims to sink a few feet or more into the ground. Some of these unstable areas can have roots still burning beneath the surface. Fall into one of these, and a hunter could burn right along with the root. Seasoned firefighters know that these burned root systems often reveal themselves by the white ash on the ground surface, something most hunters have never seen. Another key concern is hunters getting caught in fire flare-ups. Fall winds shifting to the east can push embers from still-smoldering stumps into unburned areas that generate fresh fires that can trap hunters or generate enough smoke to cause confusion. "Even though the smoke has cleared and the large fires are contained, the danger’s still there," Turco says. The danger won’t let up when fall rains finally extinguish these fires. When it rains, hunters should avoid streams, creeks and the bases of ravines within burned areas. The unstable slopes above them can generate slumps or slides that can send mass amounts of soil or debris downhill instantly. "We hope hunters choose other areas, just for their own safety," Turco says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S