Document text
HAZE Temp: 48 °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 4, 2002 Cold water tossed on Bush fire plan Some firefighters take their concern over the president’s motive from front lines to Congress By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Firefighter Jim Gurley figures it’s time to stop, take a deep breath and then discuss the forest thinning issue. "We’ve gotten whipped up in such a frenzy with this year’s fire season that reason is not necessarily going to win out right now," said the volunteer lieutenant with the Illinois Valley Fire Department. "People need to stop, count to 10 and then reason might prevail," he said. "But if the Bush administration and the timber industry gets its way, then it won’t. And we’re all in trouble." Gurley is one of a group of firefighters concerned that the wildfires that devastated Southern Oregon this year will pave the way for the administration to log large trees on public lands in the name of catastrophic wildfire prevention. While several held a press conference in Medford Tuesday afternoon, retired Medford firefighter Dave Calahan of Applegate, the son of a logger, is taking his argument to Congress this week. In testimony expected to be made Thursday, Calahan will observe that a wildfire can be healthy for a forest, providing it isn’t threatening a house. "We need the necessary money to do rural interface thinning and we need to remove the premise that a logging sale must pay for the thinning associated with it," according to a portion of this testimony. "We cannot log ourselves out of this mess, and to think that the logging industry knows best and will do the right thing is insane." During his visit to Jackson County late last month, President Bush announced his forest health proposal which called for forest thinning to reduce the frequency and scope of devastating wildfires. His plan includes easing restrictions on logging but does not specifically call for logging large trees. But Gurley and others believe that any forest thinning done to reduce the threat of a catastrophic wildfire needs to focus on small trees and the urban interface. Gurley, who lives on the western edge of the Illinois Valley where a dozer line had been punched across his property in the event the Biscuit fire approached early last month, was part of the structural task force that participated both in the Biscuit and Squire fires this year. Both sparked by thunderstorms July 13, the Biscuit fire, which has burned nearly a half million acres, much of it in the Siskiyou National Forest, is expected to be contained this weekend. The 2,804-acre Squire fire threatened more than 200 homes immediately southeast of Ruch. A firefighter for nine years, Gurley’s work often includes interface defense during the summer months. "My biggest concern is that the healthy forest proposal that President Bush revealed here is just a smokescreen to continue logging as usual," he said. He is also concerned that what the administration calls easing logging restrictions is a code word for removing environmental protections. "I don’t think there is any need to suspend environmental laws to get thinning projects through," he said. "Once those laws are suspended, we’ll just have wholesale large-tree logging." Removing large trees that are more fire-resistant than small ones will not reduce fire danger or lower risks to firefighters, he said. "The first mile or two near homes, that’s where we need to have some treatment to make up for the fact we’ve been suppressing fire and doing some sloppy logging — leaving a lot of slash and opening up the canopy," he said. "That is what has been contributing to a lot of large fires." Jonathan Paul, a volunteer lieutenant with Williams Fire and Rescue and a wildlands contract firefighter, agreed. "Commercial logging leaves a lot of slash, and you get a lot of brush growth afterwards," he said. "That makes fires burn hotter, faster and more dangerous." The removal of understory and small trees helps create a healthier forest, he said. Moreover, he observed thinning in the interface will reduce the cost to fight wildfires. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [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