Hi Everybody! Out west here we are in extreme fire weather. That stops all saw work, etc. and is all we get done from now till it rains. I have 16 cords cut split and stacked, and most all debarked too, but I started in March. Getting a little further ahead every year. It's summer - so I miss all you Firewood Hoarder Club folks. Here is an actual "Smokey Bear" cub photographed on our big 413,000 acre Bootleg fire here in Oregon. In case you are curious, here's the rules, and yes, we live by them. No Debris Burning Smoking in designated locations, vehicles on improved roads and boats in the water No campfires Portable cooking stoves using liquefied fuels OK No Fireworks No exploding targets, tracer ammunition or sky lanterns No mowing of dry, cured grass No power saw use No cutting, welding or grinding Electric fences must be UL approved No off-road driving Any other spark emitting internal combustion engine not specifically mentioned is prohibited
That is nasty Buzz. Also the smoke gets to a lot of folks clear across the country. I've only seen it like this one other time in my life. It was funny that my son and his wife slept in their camper, parked in our driveway. In the morning they were really disgusted because they thought the neighbor had been burning something all night and had to close windows in the camper. They were shocked when I told them that neighbor who was burning was thousands of miles west of us.
413,000 acres!!! I can't even imagine that. My in laws were in town from Arizona beginning of July and said they had 20 active wildfires out there. Bring the rain!!
Dang! That’s nuts! We had the Cameron Peak fire last year that torched off 209,000 acres. It was our biggest ever. It’s hard to imagine that your fire is TWICE that size! We’ve been blessed with a rainy summer so far, but that’s not usually the norm. I feel for you. I live in the mountains and wildfire is always on my mind up here. PS - My department has a type 6 engine and 5 guys fighting the bootleg fire as we speak. I’ll call them and tell them to work harder
Wow, no welding even? They must allow some for emergency vehicle/equipment repair and such? I can't imagine what you guys go through out there. We had rain almost every day in July. Wish I could have sent it your way.
Last week we smelled the smoke here in Southern New England. Air quality alerts. We had the wettest July on record and id like some dry weather here...just not that dry. Hopefully some rain is in your near future!
Smoke we're sending you from the Bootleg Fire. We have public fire precaution levels AND Industrial fire precaution levels (IFPL), so it probably seems confusing, but loggers are under a different set of rules as long as they meet the standards (like having a water truck on the landing). These are called Hoot Owl rules, see below for why. We are in Industrial Fire Precaution Level 3 in my neck of the woods: The following is prohibited except as indicated: Cable yarding -except that gravity operated logging systems employing non-motorized carriages or approved motorized carriages (defined below), may operate between 8 P.M. and 1 P.M. when all blocks and moving lines are suspended 10 feet above the ground except the line between the carriage and the chokersand during rigging. The following are permitted to operate between the hours of 8 P.M. and 1 P.M. where mechanized equipment capable of con-structing fire line is immediately available to quickly reach and effectively attack a fire start: Ground-based operations (defined below); Power saws on ground-based operations; Rotary head saw feller-bunchers with a continuous Firewatch; Non-rotary head saw feller-bunchers; Tethered logging systems (defined below). The following are permitted to operate between the hours of 8 P.M. and 1 P.M.: Power saws at loading sites; Loading or hauling of any product or material; Blasting; Welding, cutting, or grinding of metal; Any other spark emitting operation not specifically mentioned. --------- Yeah, some idiot welding on a gate burnt much of the scenic part of Smith Rock State Park up a few years ago - where Kevin Costner's "The Postman" was filmed. It definitely happens.
I'm so sorry! I was caught up in (my home survived) a catastrophic wildfire. It's terrible. And the poor little cub.
I also live in Oregon, and our air quality is horrible right now. It's very hard on the elderly and folks with any breathing disorders. If we don't get good snowfall this winter and heavy rains next spring we are gonna be hurting BAD.
You better believe we live by those rules out west. We've gotten through another summer here thanks to the monsoons. Hope things get better up there.
Last year 2020 the state had 23 fires, which destroyed 40,023 acres. This year, so far there have been 50 fires which have destroyed 820, 129 acres!
B. Brown: Uh... in Oregon? We had over a million acres burned last year in our state alone. Enough lost timber from the big ones to build a million homes. Think about what a million homes looks like for a moment. Sickening, isn't it?
I used to fight grass and brush fires. Had my azz scared off several times. Can't even imagine a forest burning. So you think you're fast, eh ? Prayers for everyone human and critter alike.
