Into Fire Season

The designation of fire season started on July 1st in this area of the Pacific Northwest. Fire season begins when  the Oregon Department of Forestry notice the conditions are dry enough to make the fuel in the forests more dangerous. Southern Oregon fire season started several weeks ago and parts of Eastern Oregon before that. Although the dates can vary, the months of July, August and September are the most common for fire season.

IFPL

The Industrial Fire Precaution Level has gone up to level 3.

As a small woodland owner/operator, this means that even with fire suppression and fire fighting equipment we are not allowed to run power saws in the woods until the fire danger subsides with moisture and cooler weather.

With no saws running, no trees can be felled. At this time, we are still able to yard out (pull logs out of the woods that have already been felled) with the bulldozer and run a power saw in the landing, but only until 1pm and then a 3 hour fire watch is required. We only have a few trees down in the woods and those can be yarded out in a day or two.

Forecasters are not calling for a break in the weather in the next week so we would not be surprised if the IFPL goes up to level 4 where everyone is shut out of the woods completely and this includes log trucks and working in the landing.

We are grateful to the Foresters and the dedication to our working forests. These IFPL standards are designed to keep us safe, even though it is a disruption to our plans for this year. These rules can’t ensure that a fire won’t start in the woods, but it is the right thing to do to work as safely as possible so our future does not go up in smoke.

A Haze In The Air

Wildfires in Canada that have been burning a month or more are the reason for the haze in the air.

Strong currents have taken the smoke out above the Pacific Ocean and swirling it back into the Pacific Northwest.

With temperatures hovering 100 degrees or more during this week, the smoke is actually creating a sunblock for us and keeping a degree or two from reaching us.

The IFPL (Industrial Fire Precaution Level) has jumped from I to III in just a couple days and will keep us out of the woods until moisture can once again work its way into the area.