News release
Vanessa Tharp, Outreach Coordinator
Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative
[email protected]
Sarah Altemus-Pope, Director
Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative
[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Join us on Wednesday, November 30th, and Thursday, December 8th, for a two part series, Forests and Fire: Oakridge-Westfir Community Conversations at the Lion Mountain Bakery in Oakridge. The doors open at 5:30pm and the conversations with subject area expert guest speakers start at 6:00pm, wrapping up by 7:30pm. Learn more about the history of wildfires in our area, as well as impacts of the Cedar Creek and Gales wildfires, plus get to know more about what’s happening community-wide across Oakridge-Westfir.
OAKRIDGE, OR- Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative (SWFC) and Oakridge Air, along with community partners, Oregon State University and the Middle Fork Ranger Station will be hosting a community conversation series focused on the Middle Fork area fire history and the recent impacts of the Cedar Creek Fire. These conversations will be moderated by Sarah Altemus-Pope, SWFC coordinator, to offer information about wildfire in our forests and the recent impacts of the Cedar Creek Fire and provide opportunity for community feedback. Doors open each night at 5:30 p.m. and the conversation starts at 6:00 p.m. Snacks provided and beverages will be available for purchase.
On Wednesday, November 30th, James Johnston with Oregon State University will present his findings from five years of reconstructing the history of wildfire in the Middle Fork. James has led a team of graduate students who have been working since 2017 to gather data to reconstruct historical fire return intervals using dendrochronology methods. James will present for about 40 minutes followed by Q/A.
On Thursday, December 8th, Fred Levitan, Burned Area Emergency Response team lead, will present about the impacts from the Cedar Creek fire including forest burn severity, recreational impacts, safety and more. Middle Fork District Ranger Molly Juillerat will share about the Forest Service Cedar-Gales Roadside Risk Reduction project and gather community input. This shared presentation will be followed with time for community involvement and Q/A.
This event is hosted in partnership with Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative, Oakridge Air, Oregon State University, USDA Forest Service, and Lion Mountain Bakery – located at 47781 Hwy 58, Oakridge, OR 97463. This is an in-person event only.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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