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OVERCAST Temp: 61 °F Wind: WNW at 3 mph Friday, October 4, 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 22, 2002 Bjorn Everson sets out wire-mesh rolls of Western juniper shavings -- "Curly Qs" manufactured by Reach Inc. of Klamath Falls -- to slow runoff from winter rains to minimize erosion on fire-damaged property. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Out of the ashes, a haste for renewal As the wet season looms, homeowners replant and set up safeguards against the threat of erosion on their burned lands By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Their lands blackened by a summer of fire that burned hundreds of thousands of acres in southwestern Oregon, homeowners in Jackson County already have begun restoring their woods and meadows. From the 27,145-acre Timbered Rock fire in the north to the 2,800-acre Squire fire in the southwest, property owners are getting their land ready for the winter rains and the future. Many plan to replant trees, build diversion ditches for runoff and sow meadows with seeds to prevent erosion or provide forage for wildlife. "The idea is to reforest right away," said Sara Hammond, who lost 15 of her 63 acres in the Timbered Rock fire north of Trail. "We want to try and get in there and avoid a landslide this winter." She hopes to salvage her lumber, which is mostly Douglas fir, as soon as possible. "Five to seven acres were sterilized," she said. "They’re now just white ash and black sticks." Another two acres were badly burned, but the fire didn’t hit the crowns of the trees, instead moving through the underbrush, possibly jeopardizing root systems. Hammond plans to plant seed that will provide forage for deer and other animals. Her restoration efforts have been hampered somewhat because her septic system was damaged by heavy equipment during the fire, and she is right in the middle of harvest at her certified organic vegetable farm. Hammond said she wants to be cautious so logging operations don’t damage other forested areas that will survive if left alone. "Some oaks, some willows are coming back," she said. Chuck Miller, service forester with the Oregon Department of Forestry, said the fires in Jackson County destroyed forests mostly on government or Boise land. Of the fires in Jackson County, the Squire fire, southeast of Ruch, probably caused the most damage to private lands, he said. A number of homeowners along Elk Creek Road also suffered losses in the Timbered Rock fire. Miller said some homeowners are entitled to financial assistance, in which the government pays a percentage of the restoration work. Tax credits are also available, reimbursing property owners dollar for dollar, he said. Even though the land is blackened, Miller said the trees still retain much of their value as lumber. "The inside isn’t burned," he said. "It just burned like a hot dog on the outside, but you can still eat it." Bjorn Everson, who lost 10 of his 26 acres off Sterling Creek Road in the Squire fire, has been busy restoring his land with the help of wattles to prevent erosion. Made of native juniper 8 inches in diameter and 15 to 20 feet long, the wattles are placed in ditch areas. "They look like long sausages," said Everson. "You put them along a slope to prevent runoff." He lost thousands of small conifers that he’d planted over the years, but he hopes to replace them. Because seedlings are in short supply, Everson said he plans to dig up cedar and pine trees that grow in gravel roadways and transplant them around his property in December and January. "I’ll need thousands of them," he said. Everson’s property is on a sunny, dry slope that allows trees to grow only about a foot a year. "It’s always been hot," he said. "It’s always been hard to grow things here." Despite the heat, oak trees that were burned in the fire already have begun resprouting. Everson said he could sow grass seed to help the restoration, but prefers not to use any non-native species. Ed Reilly, who had five or six of his 20 acres burned by the Squire fire, began restoration work even before the blaze was brought under control in late July. "When they were putting in a dozer line, I was able to do some of the work during the fire," said Reilly. He bought a culvert to divert water and will use the dozer line as a roadway to a previously inaccessible portion of his property. At the same time, Reilly had the dozer operator make water bars to prevent erosion. He bought a small chipper that attaches to his tractor and began chopping up some of the debris left over from the fire. A meadow that was burned in front of his house will be planted with vetch, a non-native grass. "It is a good soil builder and helps fend off some of the noxious weeds, such as star thistle," Reilly said. Some larger conifers at the top of his property won’t be salvageable, he said, because there are so few of them and they are relatively inaccessible. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search 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 webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S