Commentary: Oakridge can’t keep dodging bullets; attend wildfire safety night in the park if you can

By DOUG BATES/Editor/The Herald — It seemed like a miracle at the time: Last September when hellish winds propelled a wildfire throughout the nearby McKenzie River corridor, destroying more than 400 homes and the entire small town of Blue River, the Upper Willamette was somehow spared.

Similar infernos ravaged a dozen other Oregon communities. Again, Oakridge and Westfir were spared, suffering only heavy smoke but not a single burned tree or home.

Next time, this community might not be so incredibly lucky. That’s why a public gathering set for Friday, May 21, at Greenwaters Park may be the Oakridge-Westfir area’s most important meeting of the year.

Set for 5:30 p.m. at the park’s amphitheater, the event will be hosted by the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative and Oakridge Air, along with a number of community partners. They are calling the meeting a “community wildfire safety night,” and it will include a screening of the documentary film “The West Is Burning.”

Doors open at 5 p.m.

“Bring your lawn chair, watch a film, get to know community partners, learn more about the Oakridge Air project, learn about Firewise, enjoy wildfire engine tours, bring a picnic or enjoy some local grub,” Katie Fields, outreach coordinator for the collaborative, writes in a news release. “The Campfire will be delivering food orders as well (food orders must be made by 6 p.m.).”

Her reference to “Firewise” involves the national safety program Oakridge joined last year along with 180 other Oregon communities. The program is aimed at increasing awareness of wildfire risks and reducing those risks — pretty much the goals of Friday evening’s event at Greenwaters Park.

Field’s reference to”The Campfire” involves a new Oakridge eatery that specializes in serving up Tex-Mex and other cuisine at events like the one in the park.

The organizers are asking the public to register for the event at this website so they’ll have an idea of how large a crowd to expect.

Speakers for the panel discussion include James Johnston with Oregon State University; Anne Trapanese, fuels planner for the Middle Fork Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest; Justin Patten, fire planning forester with Oregon Department of Forestry South Cascade District, East Lane Unit; and Sarah Altemus-Pope, director for the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative.

“The West is Burning” is a documentary that reveals the scale of wildfire issues facing the Western United States. In the film, unlikely partners come together to improve forest stewardship efforts and highlight the critical need for a unified response to climate change, land use, and forest restoration. This work emphasizes the importance of community-based solutions to these challenges. The documentary was produced by Landmark Stories at The University of Arizona by filmmakers Cody Sheehy and Galen McCaw, in association with Wallowa Resources.

 This event is hosted in partnership with Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative, Oakridge Air, Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, Firewise USA, LRAPA, Lane County, Inbound LLC, Oregon Department of Forestry, City of Oakridge, City of Westfir, and the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

If that sounds like a lot of groups and agencies with an interest in keeping Oakridge-Westfir safe from the unthinkable, you’re right. The Herald will be there Friday evening. Let’s hope for a good community turnout that will result in a heightened awareness of what Oakridge-Westfir can do to avoid the devastation of Blue River and the McKenzie Valley.