Warner Creek Fire
In October of 1991 an arson fire burnt over
9,000 acres of
ancient and second growth temperate forest near
Oakridge, Oregon.
Started in a roadless area, the Warner Creek blaze
took two weeks to
control and swept through areas set aside by President
Clinton's forest plan as a LSR and protected spotted owl habitat.
An army of 2,000 firefighters and over $12 million in
tax payers money went to controlling the fire. An estimated 3,000 acres
were
burned by the USFS as they built a 22 mile fire line
around the area.
Cool, wet weather finally did what firefighters tried
to do for weeks
and the fire was stopped. It was the 2nd largest fire in the Willamette
National Forest this century.
From our vantage point we could only see part of the Warner Creek fire
area. The area we could see was the most heavily burned. The fire was
started at the bottom of the ridge and quickly burned up the hill.
Although most of this part of the fire was stand replacing, like all fire
it is still patchy. If you are interested in exploring the Warner
Creek Fire area, trips to the area go through the UO Outdoor Program.
Forest fire is often perceived as a solely destructive, damaging phenomena
which wipes out whole ecosystems. Most Americans can remember Smokey the
Bear and his warning: "only you can prevent forest fires." Much anti-fire propaganda, including that from Smokey the Bear, is a lie. Take a closer look at the graphic to the right by clicking on it. Notice what it says on the middle left, "One match. That
's all it takes to destroy a forest and every creature, great and small, who lives there." This is at best a misleading statement, at worst it is blatant deceit.
Fire performs an important role in many forest ecosystems. Fires add to the diversity of many forests. Many forests are dependent on frequent fire. One of these forests types is Ponderosa Pine. It is interesting that the advertisement shows Ponderosa Pine
as an organism that would be killed by fire when in fact our east-side Ponderosa forests are dependent on frequent fire.
Why, you might ask, are such clearly inaccurate statement being made in the name of Smokey the Bear. Chances are it has much to do with the Forest Services emphasis on commodity extraction over ecosystem integrity. Preventing all fire helps none in the lo
ng-run; however, some companies think it will help them in the short-term. One last thing you should notice on the advertisement is the mention at the bottom that Weyereauser, a major timber company, is the campaign director.
Related Links
THE WARNER
CREEK STORY
Are
loggers behind the rash of fires in the West?
Pictures of the
fire area
Warner Creek Fire
| 
