U.S. Forest Service photo Oregon State Fire Marshal Task Force firefighters conduct an assessment at a home just outside the Oakridge city limits Thursday.
By DOUG BATES/Editor/The Herald — Heroic efforts by firefighters may very well spare Oakridge from the wildfire that’s raging just east of town, but the forest inferno will leave its mark in countless ways.
Some are immediate. August 2021 will be a lost month for the community with the cancellation of its signature summer celebration, the Keg & Cask Festival, and a much-anticipated Concert in the Park as well as numerous other events that make Oakridge-Westfir a destination for outdoor enthusiasts.
U.S. Forest Service photo Fire safety assessment crews inspected hundreds of Oakridge-Westfir homes Wednesday and Thursday. At each property, a green placard was posted alerting firefighters to possible hazards and other issues.
Local businesses are taking a cruel beating from the fire after months and months of COVID-19 cancellations and closures. You couldn’t buy a Dairy Queen ice cream cone Thursday or sit outdoors enjoying a beer at the pub as thick, acrid smoke pushed the air quality index into the “hazardous” zone.
Other effects of the fire may be more long-term. Foremost among them is a question: Given the reality of climate change, will it ever make sense for the mountain community to schedule festivals and outdoor concerts in fire season again?
Many residents in Level 2 “BE SET” evacuation zones have left town, choosing not to wait around for the ultimate Level 3 “GO NOW” evacuation notices that may or may not be coming.
Hundreds of Level 2 homes received visits from fire safety assessment crews Thursday. They conducted inspections and posted green placards alerting firefighting crews to hazards and other issues awaiting them if flames reach the property.
Typically, the placards were fastened to trees, often accompanied by Level 2 evacuation notices. On Wednesday, Oregon State Fire Marshal Task Force firefighters inspected 327 homes in the City of Oakridge and homes in the Level 2 evacuation area. Thursday, crews aimed to finish assessing homes and begin preparing structures using the Defensible Space Model: the creation of buffers through fuel removal between a structure and wildland space.
U.S. Forest Service photo The Oregon State Fire Marshal Task Force brought firefighters from all over the state to Oakridge to help with the Kwis Fire on the eastern outskirts of town.
The green Firefighter Risk Assessment Placards will continue to be displayed at all triaged homes, the command center said in a statement.
“We appreciate homeowners leaving placards in place to assist in the prepping of homes and in the event of emergency response,” the statement said.
In other developments:
— The National Weather Service issued yet another Red Flag Warning for the mountainous region. Firefighters and residents should expect “very unstable conditions” and low humidity. Hotter, drier and more unstable conditions were expected Thursday, resulting in increased fire activity and potential for vertical plumes of smoke, the agency said. There is a slight chance of dry thunderstorms on Friday, including possible lightning. For current air quality information, visit oakridgeair.org/smoke or the Oregon Smoke Blog https://oregonsmoke.blogspot.
— The federal interagency command team, which has been fighting the Middle Fork Complex of fires since July 29, reported that it is moving its command center to the Eugene area — most likely at the Lane County Fairgrounds — to help the team perform more efficiently on the bevy of fires that are burning not just near Oakridge but also near Lowell and McKenzie River residential areas.
