Looking to move here in the future, but concerned about wildfires (Portland: tech jobs, university)

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Deserterer

And exactly which forest or which forest service are you talking about? I am working for the Forest Service and the forest has either put out every single fire that was reported on the forest, or are in the process of doing so.

You apparently don't know much about the policies of the agency you work for.

Until around 1970, federal land managers remained obsessed with controlling large fires. But during the 1960s, scientific research increasingly demonstrated the positive role fire played in forest ecology. This led in the early 1970s to a radical change in Forest Service policy—to let fires burn when and where appropriate. It began with allowing natural-caused fires to burn in designated wilderness areas. From this the "let-burn" policy evolved, though it suffered a setback in the wake of the 1988 Yellowstone fires.

U.S. Forest Service Fire Suppression - Forest History Society

[Veritas Vincit]

Originally Posted by ExNooYawk2

As an Ashland resident with family in both Talent and South Medford, I'm reading these comments with interest. The myriad solutions to fire danger are missing one important fact - your house has to be in the right direction when the wind is blowing. Whether it is "fireproof" or made out of wood; close to neighbors or on several acres, your property will be at the mercy of the wind.

My daughter's house was right at Ground Zero. Her house was spared but the neighborhood was dotted with homes that burned down. One street was fine, the next one over was obliterated. Downtown business burned to the ground but a select few were still there. Why? The wind chose some buildings over other buildings.

The entire Rogue Valley is in mourning and it is so sad. I am impressed at the number of volunteers who came out despite our dreadful air quality to minister to those suffering loss of home, pets and even family members. People need just about everything from toiletries to non-perishable food items to sleeping bags to...

It will take our area and so many others a long while to get over this.

Wind is the big problem, yes, but it's not a totally 'random' selection of houses necessarily. Wind pushes embers long distances from the fire itself. Those embers are basically lit matches. Whether a lit match causes a new fire will depend on whether it directly hits inflammable material and the conditions around that inflammable material. Most embers do not; only a very small % of embers will cause a spot fire.



But in order to reduce the chances that they will cause such spot fires on your property, you can minimize the available inflammable material - such as dry vegetation and of course inflammable building materials. This does not eliminate all risk but it greatly reduces it. That's how you turn your property into a defensible one.


One of the big problems in the U.S. is that we use considerable resources to defend towns full of indefensible properties that are basically toast regardless of what firefighters do in the situation. A wooden house surrounded by bushes and trees can't be defended from a very active fire.



Obviously some fire situations are so extreme that almost nothing is going to help, but that doesn't mean you can act like it's completely fate. It's like any other human activity..there's no total safety but there's risk mitigation.

[Deserterer]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

You apparently don't know much about the policies of the agency you work for.



U.S. Forest Service Fire Suppression - Forest History Society

I know exactly the reality of what the forest has done in fire suppression this year, and its 100% opposite of what you suggest. They have put out or attempted to put out every single last fire, even lightning caused fires in wilderness areas and other areas that they easily could have and arguably should have (in my opinion) let burn.

[airemp76]

i can tell ya one thing about oregon that says everything, this place stinks, quite literally right now.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit

Wind is the big problem, yes, but it's not a totally 'random' selection of houses necessarily. Wind pushes embers long distances from the fire itself. Those embers are basically lit matches. Whether a lit match causes a new fire will depend on whether it directly hits inflammable material and the conditions around that inflammable material. Most embers do not; only a very small % of embers will cause a spot fire.

But in order to reduce the chances that they will cause such spot fires on your property, you can minimize the available inflammable material - such as dry vegetation and of course inflammable building materials. This does not eliminate all risk but it greatly reduces it. That's how you turn your property into a defensible one.

One of the big problems in the U.S. is that we use considerable resources to defend towns full of indefensible properties that are basically toast regardless of what firefighters do in the situation. A wooden house surrounded by bushes and trees can't be defended from a very active fire.

Obviously some fire situations are so extreme that almost nothing is going to help, but that doesn't mean you can act like it's completely fate. It's like any other human activity..there's no total safety but there's risk mitigation.

The most flammable part of a house is the tinder in the gutters. If the gutters have not been cleaned and an ember lands in the tinder, it is almost certain to start a fire, which burns up under the eave and sets the whole house on fire.

One of my annual fire season preps is to clean the gutters, then take a hose or leaf blower and wash or blow all the dust out of the gutter. I try to do it at the end of June, because the 4th of July is the first fire hazard of any fire season.

Most modern roofing is pretty secure against fire threat. You don't need metal or ceramic roofing. Plain old 3-tab asphalt/fiberglass shingles are Class A fire resistant. The surface is fine gravel.

Class A fire retardants have a flame spread rating of between zero and 25. These materials are effective against severe fire exposure.

By the time a 3-tab roof catches on fire, the rest of the house is already burning.

Clean those gutters.

[soarswitheagles]

Larry Caldwell, what do you think of the gutter cover systems?

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by soarswitheagles

Larry Caldwell, what do you think of the gutter cover systems?

I've never used one. I just clean the gutters.

[SusVelo]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

I agree that how hot the fire is makes a big difference, and yes I have driven to Sisters. We will see, but so far I don't see any evidence of a lot of burned up trees. Most of the damage seems to be to structures.

I guess some of the trees must have been impacted.


https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting...efinitely.html

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by simply1

I guess some of the trees must have been impacted.


https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting...efinitely.html

That is just a normal day in Oregon. After every winter storm along the coast, sections of Highway 101 are single lane while ODOT crews cut down damaged trees. They are always cutting down damaged trees. Meanwhile the picture in that article is another one showing burned homes and vehicles and what appears to be undamaged trees just feet away.

I also have to question some of those road closures. The only possible reason I can think of for Highway 99 to still be closed is for security reasons. Because there are plenty of videos on YouTube of people who drove around the road blocks and were driving up and down Highway 99 while the fires were still smoldering. The only obstacles they were encountering were downed power lines, which have almost certainly been removed by now.

It's interesting to me to contrast how ODOT operates compared to other states I have lived in. I've seen severe tornado damage, where entire buildings were knocked down, debris everywhere, and yes trees and power lines down. Yet the road departments always managed to clear and reopen the roads within 24 to 48 hours. Here it is over a week later, and ODOT still hasn't reopened any of these roads. They seem perfectly content to keep the roads closed indefinitely. I'm not saying they are right or wrong, just noting the differences, compared to other places.

[SusVelo]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

That is just a normal day in Oregon. After every winter storm along the coast, sections of Highway 101 are single lane while ODOT crews cut down damaged trees. They are always cutting down damaged trees. Meanwhile the picture in that article is another one showing burned homes and vehicles and what appears to be undamaged trees just feet away.

I also have to question some of those road closures. The only possible reason I can think of for Highway 99 to still be closed is for security reasons. Because there are plenty of videos on YouTube of people who drove around the road blocks and were driving up and down Highway 99 while the fires were still smoldering. The only obstacles they were encountering were downed power lines, which have almost certainly been removed by now.

It's interesting to me to contrast how ODOT operates compared to other states I have lived in. I've seen severe tornado damage, where entire buildings were knocked down, debris everywhere, and yes trees and power lines down. Yet the road departments always managed to clear and reopen the roads within 24 to 48 hours. Here it is over a week later, and ODOT still hasn't reopened any of these roads. They seem perfectly content to keep the roads closed indefinitely. I'm not saying they are right or wrong, just noting the differences, compared to other places.

Yeah that article all sounded normal. Did you read it?

I thought you said there wasn't any tree damage. Did you drive to check the damages out in person, or we're supposed to rely on your expert opinion based on photos.