The Oregon Department of Forestry announced that fire season will be declared Monday, July 11 at 1 a.m. in the Northwest Oregon Forest Protective Association region, which stretches from northern Yamhill County to Astoria and from near Forest Grove to the Pacific Ocean.
Many other ODF-protected areas have already gone into fire season, which restricts some activities in areas the ODF is tasked with providing fire protection for.
“We will be enacting our public use restrictions (low fire danger) and IFPL1 across the district,” an email signed by Forest Grove District Forester Mike Cafferata, Tillamook District Forester Kate Skinner, and Astoria District Forester Dan Goody read.
The general public can stay informed of current fire restrictions by visiting the agency’s Fire Restrictions & Closures website or calling their local ODF or protective association office, in this case, Forest Grove ODF offices for most of our readers at 503-357-2191.
Operators who work within ODF lands such as logging operations or other natural resource extraction activities are required to follow fire season requirements, including providing a water supply, fire tools, spark arresters on equipment, and fire watch. Rules for these activities can be found at the Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) system web page.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
