Comprehensive coverage by Methow Valley Publishing

THE WEEK AHEAD – SEPT. 13-19 THURSDAY: Sunny FRIDAY: Sunny SATURDAY: Sunny SUNDAY: Sunny MONDAY: Sunny TUESDAY: Mostly sunny WEDNESDAY: Sunny

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On stage

Show time

Merc unveils diverse playbill for 2012-13

County fair exhibitors brought their best

ARTS Page A7

See story Page A5

Methow Valley News Enjoy it while it lasts.

PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903

TWISP, WASHINGTON

VOL. 110 NO. 18

75¢

SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

Lightning sparks late-season outburst of forest fires By Ann McCreary and Marcy Stamper Three lightning-caused fires were burning on more than 1,400 acres in the lower Methow Valley Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 11), and an evacuation recommendation was expected to remain in place until Wednesday noon for residents of the South Fork and North Fork of Gold Creek.

Fanned by high winds Monday afternoon and evening, flames from the Buckhorn Fire burning in a drainage near Gold Creek got as far as the South Fork road, but fire crews were able to keep the fire from damaging any structures in the area. “Despite high winds and fire behavior that was pretty intense, we achieved our goal of protecting all the houses

there,” said Kent Woodruff of the Methow Valley Ranger District. He said about 40 homes in the area were recommended for evacuation. No homes were threatened as of Tuesday afternoon in the Squaw Creek, Texas Creek or French Creek areas, according to the Forest Service. Although the American Red Cross set up a temporary shelter for evacuees at the

Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp, no displaced residents had come to the center by Tuesday morning. One woman who had a place to spend the night was using the center during the day on Tuesday, according to Community Center manager Kirsten Ostlie.

Using every resource

The three fires in what is called the “Okanogan Com-

plex” are the Hunter Mountain Fire, estimated at 169 acres Tuesday afternoon, the Buckhorn Fire, estimated at 475 acres, and the Texas Creek Fire, estimated at 768 acres. Woodruff said all the fires were about 5 percent contained Tuesday afternoon. Smoke from the fires filled the valley by Tuesday evening, and the state Department of Ecology air monitoring station in Twisp listed the air quality as unhealthy for people with health conditions that make them sensitive to pollution.

Crews from the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forest, Washington Department of Natural Resources and Okanogan County Fire District 6 were fighting the fires. Woodruff estimated that more than 140 firefighters, including about 13 smokejumpers, were involved in fighting the three blazes Tuesday using fire engines, bulldozers, a helicopter and planes. “We were fighting with all the resources we had,” Woodruff said Tuesday afternoon.

See FIRES on Page A2

Photo by Sue Misao

Photo by Craig Peterson

Left, a plane drops fire retardant in the Gold Creek area Monday afternoon. Above, John and Debra Myers make plans with firefighters on Gold Creek Loop Road to get their horse, three dogs and two cats from their home, which they had to evacuate.

Another Langdalen on Winthrop Town Council By Don Nelson By Marcy Stamper

Photo by Marcy Stamper

The county road crew is vigilant for damaged signs.

From yellow diamonds sporting a sinuous S-curve to posts stacked with 10 road names to run-of-the-mill speed-limit and stop signs, Okanogan County has 12,000 road markers distributed across its 5,268 square miles. The Okanogan County sign crew typically has to replace or repair a sign a couple of times a week – mainly as a result of accidents – but they occasionally contend with vandalism, said Bill Nearents, supervisor of the county’s weed and sign shop. Because it takes two weeks to drive all the county’s roads – 1,370 miles, half paved and half gravel or earth – the four people on the sign and road crew rely on reports from sheriffs and the public to learn if a sign is damaged, said Nearents. Warning signs – such as stop signs and speed limits – are fixed

immediately, said county engineer Jeff Tincher. “One of our biggest complaints is speeders – we get calls all the time” from people who believe additional signs will correct the problem, said Nearents. He tells them to call the sheriff. County engineers have to strike a balance to install the “right” number of signs because if there are too many, people tend to ignore them, said Nearents. In fact, studies have shown that signs in residential areas installed to “warn” people of normal conditions in fact fail to improve safety because they provide a false sense of security. Today, the most common vandalism is paintball (which can be cleaned if caught early enough), but sometimes vandals pull up signs and leave them lying on the side of the road,

See SIGNS on Page A2

Winthrop Town Council member Tiffany Langdalen had a question for the newest council member, who was appointed at last week’s meeting (Sept. 5): “Can I call you Sue?” All her life, Tiffany Langdalen has been calling Sue Langdalen “Mom.” As co-council members, the relationship may be a bit different. Sue Langdalen, who was the mayor of Winthrop from 2002-2005, was appointed to fill the council position recently vacated by Lance Christensen’s resignation. She was one of two applicants for the position. The other applicant, Michael Strulic, withdrew from consideration. Mayor Dave Acheson said his review of applicable statutes indicated there was no prohibition against a

mother and daughter serving on the same council. Sue’s appointment makes it a trifecta for the Langdalens. Sue’s husband (Tiffany’s father), Jim Langdalen, was a town council member from 2006-2009. He was defeated for re-election by Joanne Uehara. Uehara later resigned from the council after she moved outside of the t o w n limits. She was replaced by an ap- Sue Langdalen pointee: Ti f f a n y Langdalen, who was then elected to the seat in 2011. In questioning by the council, Sue Langdalen assured the members that she See LANGDALEN, A3

Room One helps those in need make connections By Ann McCreary It’s not always easy for residents of this rural valley to get help with social services they may need. Room One, the nonprofit social services agency in Twisp, is trying to help. Budget cuts eliminated funding for a state Department of Human and Health Services representative in the Methow Valley two years ago, and a phone line that provided a direct connection to DSHS was also terminated recently. Room One hosted the phone line to provide a direct

link for Methow Valley residents to a DSHS representative in Okanogan. The DSHS staffer helped valley residents negotiate the complex bureaucracy of Medicaid, food stamps and other state social services. But earlier this year, that phone connection was eliminated by DSHS. That meant the only way for clients to contact DSHS was through the Okanogan Call Center. “Unfortunately, connecting with the call center can take quite a few phone calls and considerable time,” said Elana Mainer, Room One’s new

executive director. Trying to get through to a DSHS staff person often means spending 45 minutes on hold, said Adrianne Moore, an outreach coordinator at Room One. However, Mainer said, a new online program called Washington Connections, initiated recently by DSHS, will help local clients access state social services. To provide access for valley residents, Room One offers a computer terminal and individual assistance to people who now apply for benefits online.

“Because of an ever-increasing need for food, medical and housing benefits and a corresponding decline in funding for DSHS services, DSHS had to change their service model,” Mainer said. The online program, she said, is the link available to rural communities like the Methow Valley. “In the past that online interface wasn’t as strong and capable as it is now,” Mainer said. “The intention was to help social service organizations to become that gateway to apply

See ROOM ONE on Page A3

MVN, pg 1

Photo by Ann McCreary

Room One staffers, from left, Erin Flahive, Elana Mainer and Lori Valentine at the nonprofit’s Twisp office.

Page A2

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Methow Valley News

FIRES “We’ve got more crews ordered. We’re trying to get a variety of … air resources.” With cooler temperatures and light winds forecast through Wednesday, along with additional firefighting resources that were continuing to arrive, crews were expected to gain more control of the fires as they continued to build fire lines and strengthen protection around homes, Woodruff said. “Some of the retardant dropped on the Buckhorn Fire will help slow things on the northward expansion,” he said. The Northwest Oregon Incident Management Team was scheduled to arrive Tuesday evening to take over management of the three fires in the Okanogan Complex, which was managed initially by the Forest Service. Incident management teams may be assigned from any part of the

From Page A1 nation, Woodruff said.

Many stayed put

Midday Tuesday (Sept. 11) the air was still clear up Texas Creek. “Some of my neighbors said, ‘I’m not worried – I don’t smell smoke,’” said Paula Mackrow, who lives about six miles up the creek in an area of mixed forest, grass and brush. Still, the fire was not far away – it was less than one mile from her house, burning on the other side of the ridge toward Leecher Mountain. On Monday, whipped by strong winds, the fire was making its way toward the top of the Leecher Mountain ridge north of Texas Creek, but did not crest the ridge, said Mackrow. “Firefighters told us, ‘as long as the wind doesn’t turn, you guys are OK,’” she said. Still, some people were afraid that they would not have time to

Photo by Sue Misao

District 6 fire chief Don Waller, left, uses maps and lists to work on a plan to evacuate Gold Creek homes.

SIGNS said Nearents. A recent change from wood to metal signposts has reduced both blow-downs and vandalism. Criminal mischief often occurs in clusters. During Stampede weekend last month, vandals knocked over – and then drove over – three stop signs in one day, and some years ago every single sign on Twisp River Road was upended, said Nearents. Someone else on Twisp River Road once registered an objection to a lowered speed limit, yanking out the new sign repeatedly, he said. It is well known that some people see road signs as handy for target practice. “It’s kind of shocking – we’ve seen a few where there are houses just on the other side,” said Nearents. Damaging or defacing a sign is generally a misdemeanor and anyone caught having damaged a sign must pay to replace or repair it.

get out if the wind did shift, she said. As of Tuesday, no evacuation orders had been issued for Texas Creek. Most of the residents in the area live on the ridge between Texas Creek and Cow Creek, while the fire has been burning in an area away from any residences, mainly on Forest Service land, said Mackrow. About half a dozen people stayed at their homes in the Texas and Cow creek areas, while another three cabin owners have been in and out, checking on their property, said Mackrow. Mackrow took photo albums and her children’s quilts to safety in Twisp, but otherwise was staying put. In fact, as the fire threatened on Monday, her priority was to pick two cases of tomatoes and harvest all of her cabbage. One neighbor was frantically filling water barrels and wanted to chop down trees, but others went to their jobs, said Mackrow. “My thought about this was – it was an incredible Zen moment – I have to have a garage sale so I don’t have to worry about all this stuff,” she said. Saturday night’s lightning sparked many small fires, torching trees near their homes, said Mackrow. Firefighters from Okanogan County Fire District 6 mopped them up. “It was awesome,” said Mackrow, who noted that all private property there is surrounded by Washington Department of Natural Resources land, outside the jurisdiction of

the county fire district. Neighbors have been gathering to track the blazes and assess the risk. “Last night at sundown, the whole side of Leecher Mountain was glowing,” said Mackrow.

Help and praise

But they have also been going out of their way to help one other out. Many teamed up to put out a blaze near the border of four lots, including some visitors to the area, said Mackrow. Byron Braden, who lives in Carlton, discovered two small fires on Sunday afternoon near a cabin he owns on Texas Creek. DNR firefighters and lots of neighbors responded, said Braden. “People up there are really pulling together and helping each other out,” he said. With the fire just over the ridge, people had been “pretty nervous” and some had elected not to spend the night up there, said Braden. Braden, a retired firefighter, said he planned to head up again Tuesday evening after the wind picks up. “I’ll see what’s happening and decide whether to be more or less nervous,” he said. Braden heralded the firefighters from Fire District 6 for coming out on Saturday. “They worked their tails off,” he said. Isabelle Spohn, who owns property and has a cabin on the Middle Fork of Gold Creek – the one part of Gold Creek not directly affected by the fires as of Tuesday – spent several hours with her husband

Photo by Don Nelson

Forest fires south of Twisp created a thick plume of smoke over the lower valley on Monday afternoon. on Monday digging a fire line around the cabin. On Tuesday they headed back down and doused the cabin and a shed, getting them as wet as possible. “We’re just hoping for the best,” she said. Spohn said the smoke was so thick on Tuesday it was impossible to tell what was going on or where the fire was most active. Melissa Ebben, who lives on the South Fork of Gold Creek, was under an evacua-

tion order and moved in with relatives in Carlton on Monday. On Tuesday they still had “a ton of stuff to do” and were making several more trips. “The firefighters saved our yurt and trailer last night, so we can move them today,” said Ebben, in a brief respite between retrieving her belongings on Tuesday. “We are so ultra-appreciative of everyone who’s helping, and of relatives and friends,” said Ebben. From Page A1

At $25 for the post, $30 for the sign, and more for labor, gas and travel time, the penalty is at least $100 and generally two to three times that, said Nearents.

Early signs

While motorists and pedestrians have grown so accustomed to road signs that we are sometimes oblivious, the nation’s roads have not always been clearly marked. Aptly enough, the earliest traffic signs evolved in the same primordial soup that produced the first vehicles. The first centerline was painted in Michigan in 1911 and the first stop sign erected in Detroit four years later, according to a history provided by the Federal Highway Administration. In the following decade, certain shapes were designated for different levels of danger – round signs for

the most serious, an octagon for the next level, diamonds for ordinary conditions that merit caution, and rectangles to provide basic information. The round and octagonal signs were saved for the least common situations because they were more costly to cut. Road signs are governed by federal guidelines for how and where to sign curves and other road features and hazards. While the manual sets minimum standards, county engineers have the discretion to specify signs, based on engineering studies, even if they are not required, said Tincher. Primitive roads – those where we are warned that there are “no warning signs” – are gravel roads that average fewer than 100 cars per day, said Tincher. The Okanogan County Department of Public Works updates these traffic counts every

two to three years. In addition to erecting and maintaining signs, Nearents and his crew handle road paving and striping and spray and mow roadside vegetation to create a buffer so their roots don’t crack the pavement. Driving at 10 mph, it takes the crews from May to mid-August to complete vegetation control, said Nearents. Their main weapons (for all vegetation, not just noxious weeds) are two herbicides – Roundup or 2,4-D – but about 110 property owners have a signed agreement with the county to maintain their own roadside. The county makes its own roadname signs at the county sign shop in Omak but buys standard warning signs. A $200,000 grant received in 2009 has enabled the county to erect new signs in the past year,

said Nearents. The familiar signs tallying the number of deer killed on state highways have actually been out of date for at least two years, according to Deed Fink, lead technician for the Washington Department of Transportation. The Mule Deer Foundation had been maintaining the signs through a pilot program with the state, but no one has volunteered to keep the project going, said Fink. “Still, the signs do jog a lot of people’s memories and make them think, ‘There are deer out there,’” he said.

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MVN, pg 2

THE WEEK AHEAD – SEPT. 20-26 THURSDAY: Sunny FRIDAY: Sunny SATURDAY: Partly cloudy SUNDAY: Mostly sunny MONDAY: Mostly sunny TUESDAY: Partly cloudy WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy

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Shy by six

Alterations

LBHS gridders lose home opener, 18-12

New exhibit at Confluence challenges our senses

SPORTS Page B1

ARTS Page A5

Methow Valley News

No relief for firefighters.

PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903

TWISP, WASHINGTON

VOL. 110 NO. 19

75¢

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Twisp OKs shoreline plan for future guidance By Ann McCreary Future development and protection of Twisp’s riverfront areas will be guided by the town’s new Shoreline Master Program, which was adopted by the Town Council last week. Twisp is the first municipality in Okanogan County to complete the comprehensive planning required by the state in keeping with the Shoreline Management Act, approved by voters in 1972. Council member Clayton Hill voted against adopting the plan, which took about six years to complete. Hill said he wanted to register “a protest vote” because he feels the state Department of Ecology “forced its regulations on our shorelines without showing shorelines were in any actual jeopardy from local population growth or increase in the intensity of shoreline use.” In an email explaining his vote, Hill criticized the plan, approved last month by Ecology, as “dense and full of specialized jargon. With Twisp’s Plan as approved by

Smoke was thick on Sunday as afternoon temperatures heated the steep, dry hillsides above Gold Creek, causing the Buckhorn Fire to grow to more than 3,000 acres. Extremely low humidity has exacerbated the danger for the fire to spread.

Fighting fire with fire, brawn and technology By Marcy Stamper Photos by Sue Misao Carrying at least 30 pounds of tools and safety gear on their backs, firefighters at the Buckhorn Fire high above Gold Creek are working in a steep, eerie landscape, digging fire lines and intentionally lighting dry grasses that erupt in columns of flame. Smoke billows from the steep, charred hillsides around them. They step carefully, alert to burned, weakened trees and stumps that have been reduced to hot pockets of ash. Fighting fires in the 21st century combines arduous physical labor and advanced technology. Fire crews still dig trenches by hand, cut trees with chainsaws, and maneuver bulldozers across rugged terrain. But behind the gritty on-theground work is an increasingly high-tech system that produces detailed infrared maps of fire activity and analyzes the microclimates created by the fire itself. Aircraft with infrared

Public information officer Wayne Patterson consulted one of the detailed fire maps printed on equipment in temporary trailers at the fire camp.

capabilities fly over the area every night and upload data to a geographic information system, which mapping specialists in temporary trailers at the local fire camp use to print maps, according to Wayne Patterson, public information officer for the Oregon-based incident-management team. In fact, the infrared technology is so sensitive that it even picked up the body heat of three firefighters stationed in the field overnight to monitor the fire, said Alexis West, another public information officer with the team. The team is managing the Okanogan Complex, which consists of four fires in the Methow Valley between Twisp and Pateros. Most of their attack is focused on the Buckhorn Fire at Gold Creek, which, as of Tuesday (Sept. 18), covered 3,000 acres was still growing, and the Goat Fire near Alta Lake, which erupted on Saturday night (Sept. 15). Crews spent the weekend mopping up fires on Leecher Mountain and near Squaw Creek, making sure the burned ground is adequately wet and cold to the touch, said West. Relative humidity on Monday was in the single digits in Winthrop and just 11 percent on the ridge where the Buckhorn Fire is most active. Together with high temperatures in the mid-80s, south-facing slopes had grown superheated by the afternoon. “Things start cooking – fuels become hotter, drier and flashy,” said West. “Any spark can cause a fire – there is almost a 100-percent likelihood,” she said. “With very low humidity and severe conditions, we expect another run,” said the fire behavior analyst at the

See SHORELINE on Page A3 Nicole Janke, a firefighter from the Colville National Forest, was lighting grasses and ground vegetation to reduce the potential for the fire to spread to the road. Saturday-evening strategy meeting at the fire camp. “The fire wants to move about half a mile every day.” Since the weekend, the chance of new ignitions has been at 80 percent, said Patterson.

Buckhorn strategy Firefighters had spent Friday working on a containment line on the other side of the ridge, hoping to attack the Buckhorn Fire from a distance, but the fire crested the ridge and burned down to Forest Service Road 125 on the southern flank of the fire on Saturday. As a result, strategy was revised, with Road 125 becoming the new containment line. Firefighters had cut shrubs and low vegetation and on Sunday were lighting grasses near the road with portable drip torches fueled by a diesel-gasoline mix to keep the fire from burning hot enough to torch trees in the high canopy. Other crew members stood as sentries at regular intervals along the dusty, smoky road, prepared to attack any spot fires that jumped it. Brightly colored flags are used to mark escape routes. Some have skulls and crossbones that indicate danger trees. Incident managers’ biggest concerns are at Gold Creek, where the fire could easily spread to the west and southwest, and the Goat Fire, which is burning rapidly down Goat Mountain below Alta Lake, said West. Conditions at both fires are

OTHER FIRE COVERAGE • Are forest fires good for the economy? Page A3 • Other fires still rage in the region. Page A3 • An evacuee’s story. Page A6 • Fire camp springs to life. Page A7 particularly challenging, with precipitous slopes and thick vegetation. Despite the bonedry conditions in late summer, Gold Creek actually gets more moisture than other parts of the Methow, growing forests dense with ladder fuels that can spread to tall trees. On the south flank of the Buckhorn Fire, firefighters had been able to bring in a bulldozer to create a generously wide fire line – four feet – to block the fire’s path, but higher up

on the road, where the terrain grew even steeper, crews were painstakingly digging a hand line, removing all vegetation and leaving a narrow strip of dirt. A hose supplied by a water tender snaked along the line and toward the high ridge. Other crews at the Buckhorn Fire have been prepping areas around houses. A generator was drawing water from Gold Creek to keep sprinklers

See FIRE on Page A6

Firefighters aim to create “clean black” conditions, burning out all ground fuels and grasses so that the fire has nothing left to burn.

MVN, pg 1

Jensen pleads guilty to vehicular homicide By Don Nelson Winthrop resident Beverly C. Jensen pleaded guilty to a charge of vehicular homicide in Okanogan County Superior Court on Monday (Sept. 17), nearly bringing to closure a legal process that began almost two years ago when Jensen was involved in a fatal accident. Her sentencing was set for Oct. 2. In letters to the court, Jensen’s local friends and admirers supported a sentence that would include no jail time but would require community service. The plea bargain agreement filed on Monday stems from an accident on Nov. 13, 2010, in which Herrara (previously referred to as Gerardo) Hernandez-Velasco of Bridgeport was killed. According to Washington State Patrol reports, Jensen was driving southbound on Highway 97 north of Pateros at about 9:55 p.m. when her car crossed the center line and collided with a northbound pickup truck driven by Hernandez-Velasco’s wife. Hernandez-Velasco, 29, died at the scene. According to charging documents, Jensen’s

See JENSEN on Page A2

Page A6

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Methow Valley News

FIRE

From Page A1

running around houses near the Middle Fork. Crews had cleared brush and moved firewood stacked dangerously close to houses, wrapped outbuildings, and are poised to burn out grasses around residences if necessary, said West. Residents of some 30 homes on Gold Creek were still under a Level 3 evacuation order, but the majority elected to stay, according to Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers. The fire had already burned through many of the settled areas, reducing the risk to residences, said West. As of Tuesday (Sept. 18), no structures had been damaged. Helicopters have been getting water from a pool in Gold Creek and from Alta Lake. Depending on the aircraft, the buckets carry between 180 and 700 gallons of water, according to West.

Okanogan Complex fires at a glance Size: 4,711 total acres Hunter – 211 acres Leecher – 1,300 acres Buckhorn – 3,000 acres Goat – 200 acres Containment: 18 percent Cause: Buckhorn, Leecher and Hunter, lightning on Sept.8; Goat under investigation.

The fire culture Firefighters belong to a culture built on trust and a sense of unity about their mission, said West. “There’s a mutual respect – people earn their qualifications,” she said. Many depend on the seasonal employment, with wages ranging from $12 to $15 per hour, with some

Personnel: 499

earning an additional 25 percent for work in hazardous conditions, according to management-team finance chief Carol Feider. “People put their life on the line for those wages,” she said. The informal lingo of that culture can belie the seriousness of their mission and the crews’ highly specialized skills. At Saturday night’s strategy meeting, one division manager described the huge column of smoke that had pushed the fire to the southwest, and said, “We got kicked a little today, but tomorrow we’ll pick it up.” With so many fires in Washington and throughout the West, incidentmanagement teams have been juggling resources to get adequate coverage. The majority of the firefighters working on the Okanogan Complex are from Oregon, since Washington crews had already been deployed to other states, said West. There are 500 people at the fire camp, about 125 of them dedicated to supporting the firefighters with analysis, food and showers, and finances. With the outbreak of the Goat Fire, incident managers were pulling personnel and aircraft from Gold Creek over the weekend to attack the new blaze. A Canadian crew arrived on Monday to supplement the existing teams. Firefighters are also confronting other difficulties, with curious people ignoring road-closure signs in the Leecher Mountain area, where crews are mopping up but conditions remain hazardous. Sheriff’s deputies have been assisting in enforcing road closures, keeping members of the public from entering closed roads, said Sheriff Rogers.

Evacuations still in place

Helicopters were dipping buckets into Gold Creek to get water to douse the fire. Depending on the type of helicopter, they can scoop from 180 to 700 gallons at a time.

Costs to date: $2.45 million

A firefighter was saturating the vegetation above Gold Creek, where the fire had started to move down the steep slope, threatening several residences.

A Level 3 evacuation order remained in effect for the South and Middle forks of Gold Creek and a Level 1 order was issued for the area around Alta Lake. Despite the warning that conditions at Gold Creek present “specific and immediate threat(s) to life and safety,” the ma-

jority of people elected not to leave, said Rogers. Sheriff’s deputies visit all homes, notify people of the risks and ask them to sign a form acknowledging that they understand the hazards and hold harmless the agency responsible for the evacuation if they decide to stay. Because Washington law gives property owners the right to remain and protect their property and animals, the sheriff’s office will not require anyone to leave, said Rogers. The sheriff is responsible for administering evacuation orders, but the decision to declare an evacuation is made by district fire chiefs or incident commanders. Alan Waller, who was evacuated from his house on the Middle Fork of Gold Creek, was watching the fire from across Highway 153, his truck loaded with three dogs, camping gear and his guitars. “I’m not too stressed out,” Waller said. “It’s been a week – what are you going to do?” he said, noting that he felt encouraged that firefighters had cleared brush around his house, built a hand line, and set sprinklers. “It’s really interesting and eerie at night,” he said. “That’s been the fun thing to watch.”

“We fix a lot of feet – these folks are side-stepping for two miles on steep slopes,” said one medic, who had been tending to blisters and bee stings. The most serious injuries in the Okanogan Complex are an ankle injury and a firefighter who cut his hand wielding a Pulaski, requiring several stitches. Firefighters contend with extreme heat and risks of dehydration, smoke and dust. At Gold Creek on Sunday, the smoke was persistent but not too thick. Diesel-powered generators used to pump water from the creek emitted an even more noxious exhaust and a deafening roar. Many firefighters consider the dust kicked up by shovels and vehicles to be even worse than the smoke, said public information officer trainee Michelle King. “We encourage crews to get out of heavy smoke for part of the day,” she said. Some fire camps even have an oxygen tent where firefighters can go to recover. Northerly winds spared most Methow Valley residents from the heavy smoke that persisted for much of last week. Meteorologists expect smoke to return to the Methow Valley by midweek.

Evacuations: A Level 1 evacuation was issued Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 18) for homes on the west side of Golf Course Drive and on the west side of Alta Lake as far to the south as Whistling Pines. Alta Lake State Park is open. A Level 3 evacuation is in place in the Gold Creek area near the Buckhorn Fire, which means that residents are urged to evacuate. Public meeting: Wednesday (Sept. 19), 6 p.m., Alta Lake State Park Source: U.S. Forest Service, as of Sept. 18

Staying safe and healthy While many people assume flames pose the greatest danger to firefighters, 90 percent of risks come from gravity, according to Chad Bresnahan with the Methow Valley Ranger District, division supervisor for the Buckhorn Fire. “Hazard trees are an accident waiting to happen. It’s generally very serious, if not fatal,” said West. Firefighters also must watch for rocks that can tumble down steep slopes. One medic was posted near the Gold Creek Sno-Park while other emergency medical technicians walked the fire line with basic firstaid supplies. Perhaps surprisingly, medics treat primarily common outdoor injuries.

Alan Waller, evacuated from his house on Gold Creek, was watching the fire from across Highway 153, his truck stuffed with camping gear and three dogs. “It’s really interesting and eerie at night,” he said. “That’s been the fun thing to watch.”

Living with Level 3: an evacuee’s experience

By Joanna Smith

On Sunday morning (Sept. 9), the day after the fires started, the air carried the acrid scent of weeds burning. A K9 unit rolled up the driveway and an officer in a bulletproof vest told me about 8 acres burning on the other side of the ridge. He gave me a Level 1 warning, the first of three levels that equate Ready, Set, Go when fires threaten your home. I set aside a few things just in case we needed to evacuate: our immunization records, insurance papers, and birth certificates in case either one of us ever decides to run for president. Then I grabbed a bottle of wine and headed up the hill to my neighbor’s house, where we watched the flames creep over the ridge. We cheered on the planes like our favorite sports teams as they blasted fire retardant and dropped buckets of water on the flames. The sun went down and the sky darkened. The headlamps

of fire crews lit up the hill like distant constellations. In the morning the flames were gone and it looked like it was over, although the Level 1 warning was still in effect. I was in the baking aisle at Hank’s Harvest Foods pondering the difference between milk chocolate and semi-sweet when my neighbor called and said, “Level 2.” Twenty minutes later I pulled up to the mailboxes on Gold Creek Loop and a fireman told me it was time to GO. I hadn’t eaten in the past 18 hours and would soon do one of two things: pass out, or become irrationally angry – neither of which would serve good purpose as a forest fire rolled down the hill towards our home. I swallowed a bowl of whole-grain cereal topped off with cold coconut milk, and tossed into the trunk what I had set aside the night before. The dog-who-smells-like-cheerios grabbed her favorite squeaky toy and jumped in the backseat with the other dog.

Photo by Joanna Smith

Mark Hoffman, who lives on the North Fork of Gold Creek, wields a fire hose as Joe Bastian looks on. I racked my brain for anything that I would miss greatly. I rushed back upstairs to look at my row of journals and chose just one. Next to it was my great grandma’s good luck charm: a frightfully ugly doll – made out of a wishbone and dressed in rags, with a painted button for a face. It reminds me of evthing

I miss about the woman who smoked a pipe, told me Irish fairy tales and made the best apple butter in Ohio. I drove away with my dogs and my wishbone, not quite sure where to go or what to do. I kept hoping we could return home the next day. The next day came and

MVN, pg 6

went. The fire ate more ground, the smoke consumed more sky. The sun turned orange and the river reflected an image of an inferno. I started thinking about all the things I did not grab: the borrowed library books, Joe’s favorite houseplant, his clothes. I hoped the Level 3 warning would drop before Joe finished the Pacific Crest Trail. Then he would never know that I evacuated without thinking about clean socks and underwear for him. But, I did grab his birth certificate. On the fourth day the fire continued to burn. Joe reached the land of maple syrup, then turned around and hiked to the Mazama store. When I saw his tattered pants and torn shoes that had just walked 2,660 miles I felt like a jerk for not packing his clothes. We drove down to Gold Creek to get an update from the incident commander and returned to our house to pick up clean pants and a sweater for the man who just hiked cross-country. At Joe’s sug-

gestion, I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies to offer to the crews that worked so hard to keep the fire under control. We did not stay. The fire still burned, logs and boulders rolled down the hillsides. That evening we walked to the top of our hill across from the South Fork to view a healthy forest fire – burning all the dead undergrowth, returning nutrients to the soil. As one firefighter put it, “Come spring, those hills will be absolutely beautiful, and covered in morels.” Here’s to winter snows, new growth in spring and a safe return home for everyone. I am eternally grateful to friends who offered a safe place to stay and well-wishes of support. I am in awe of the physical strength and endurance of the fire crews who climb hills, dodge falling rocks and work so hard to ensure the fire burns in a safe direction. Thank you. Joanna Smith lives in the Gold Creek area.

Methow Valley News

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Page A7

Wildland fire camp never sleeps By Mike Maltais

A small city has been erected on WDFW land on the West County Road between Twisp and Carlton.

aybreak at Incident Base for the Okanogan Complex fires finds the compound’s eight command trailers circled up like Conestoga wagons anticipating an attack. A wildland fire camp is not unlike the Las Vegas strip: the place never sleeps and the very air crackles with energy, only here everybody plays for high stakes. Incident Base is situated on the Geestman property, nearly 50 acres of pastureland and floodplain recently purchased by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife that borders the Methow River four miles south of Twisp on the Twisp-Carlton Road. It is an “instant city” populated by firefighters who came from several states and represent many agencies, and the camp is prepared to serve their needs. The early hour pulses with the hum of portable generators and the rustle of people gearing up to go out, or getting in to go to bed. Bundled up against the morning chill, crew members gather around their group leader for the day’s briefings. The Okanogan Complex – Leecher, Hunter, Buckhorn and the newly added Goat fire at Alta Lake – is classified as a Type II event, so the Northwest Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team has been brought in to coordinate suppression operations for the multiple agencies involved. Those include the WDFW, U.S. Forest Service, Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Fire Districts 6 and 15 from Okanogan and Douglas counties.

Everyone has a role On a weekend morning, a welcome north wind is blowing the wildfire smoke southward where it hangs in a gray curtain across the lower valley. The incident trailers are labeled according to function: Fire Weather/ Fire Behavior, Operations, Command, Finance, Computers, Ordering, and Liaison. Casual drop-ins are not encouraged at the no-nonsense, security-conscious camp, but a cadre of PIOs (Public Information Officers) like Michelle King from the USFS Naches office are courteous, professional and informative. On the sunrise side of command

A new arrival brings his gear and is ready to set up camp.

central, scores of colorful dome tents dot the dry grass and serve as barracks for exhausted firefighters. A water tender weaves through rows of parked vehicles wetting down the dust that comes with 11 consecutive days of hot, dry conditions. Four clustered banks of floodlights powered by Wacker generators provide nighttime illumination. Surrounding vehicles provide support for everything from meals, showers and medical to security and sanitation. One of those supply contractors is the 11-member Warm Springs camp crew from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in north central Oregon. Crew boss Theodore McKinley said his is one of 10 such crews that operate out of Warm Springs and are now deployed around the country. “Our role is mainly disaster response,” McKinley said. “Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and to a lesser degree fires.” McKinley’s crew dispenses food and drinks to crews heading into the field. Sack lunches are prepared by the catering group, sent over to McKinley’s rented refrigerated trailer and distributed from there. MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) have replaced C-rations of bygone days and are required cargo for every field operator in case events conspire to make any other source of food problematic.

NW Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team logistics section chief Bill Menke has been busy organizing the camp.

Photos by Sue Misao

Costs and paychecks are handled in the finance trailer.

Not much rest A crew from the Washington Conservation Corps has been brought in to construct facilities, erect tents and keep the camp generally ship-shape. Lead man James Harter and crew supervisors Adam Hein and Russell Greer explain that their group is made up of AmeriCorps members serving one-year internships under the jurisdiction of the Department of Ecology. Everyone on the DNR-dispatched 10-man crew is fire-certified should their services in that arena be needed. Hein said the WCC is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of the 1930s and was originally founded to help provide employment for out-of-work loggers. Engine crew 321 from Mt. Hood has just rolled into camp from a 16-hour patrol on the north fork of Gold Creek. With only eight hours of down time before their next deployment, the three-member crew heads for the breakfast tent and then the rack. Mike Simmons is the crew boss and a 13-year veteran of operations like this. He and his crew of Lauren Barcas and Richard Chacon, each with three years of experience, have just been reassigned from the Highway 141 fire in White Salmon, Idaho. “Here we’re mainly protecting the houses,” Simmons said of his Gold Creek assignment. Their engine is equipped with a 600-gallon water tank to address any hotspots that might flare up near homes.

Every morning and evening, crews hold a briefing.

Firefighters line up for their evening meal after a hard day’s work. Asked about grabbing some sleep, Simmons said he and his crew were heading to the Community Center in Twisp. “I understand they have opened up the basement for use as sleeping quarters and that it’s cool and quiet there,” Simmons added. For night operators in particular the heat, light and noise at base camp makes getting adequate rest a concern.

Lots of experience Jim Perrow of Wolf Creek Enterprises in Winthrop is one of the locals with equipment on the fire. His 3,600-gallon water tender has been busy watering down roads near the fire sites. “I fill up at the fire department’s hydrant in Carlton,” Perrow said of his water source. Perrow’s is just one among many tenders that have been called in from Pateros (H&H, Rainstorm), Republic (Northern Construction), Moses Lake (Rainier Wildfire), Mukilteo (H&H Fire), Burbank (Wildland Firefighters) and other points. The 20-member crew from ASP in Pendleton, Ore., arrives tired and dirty after eight hours on the line at “Alpha Charlie” (Leecher Mountain). Boss Keith Parker and his initial attack team have been on site four days and will soon be out for another rotation. After 15 years in the business, Parker said he found nothing out of the ordinary about the Okanogan Complex. “We’ve been on fires as far away as Florida,” Parker said of past deployments. “This year South Dakota is as far east as we have been dispatched.”

MVN, pg 7

Keith Zweigle fills out a shift ticket by the light of the incident trailer court.

A dirt-floor cafeteria provides elegant dining for the crews. The temporary residents of Incident Base at the Okanogan Complex are seasoned professionals, for the most part engaged in an inherently dangerous business. They’ve traveled widely and have seen close up what wildfires can do.

For them especially the ghosts of Thirtymile and Colorado’s 1994 South Canyon disasters are never far away. The stakes are high; the odds not always in their favor. But this time they appear to be winning.

THE WEEK AHEAD – SEPT. 27-OCT. 3 THURSDAY: Partly cloudy FRIDAY: Mostly sunny SATURDAY: Mostly sunny SUNDAY: Mostly sunny MONDAY: Sunny TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy WEDNESDAY: Sunny

79 80 78 76 74 69 65

43 46 42 43 38 36 35

Every day: Partly smoky

Big win

Walk talk

LBHS gridders run over Manson, 41-15

Twisp’s art walk drew big crowd of happy strollers

SPORTS Page B1

ARTS Page A7

Methow Valley News

PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903

TWISP, WASHINGTON

VOL. 110 NO. 20

75¢

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

Winthrop Council hears comments on ATV request By Laurelle Walsh

Photo by Marcy Stamper

Persistent smoke caused unhealthy air quality throughout the Methow for much of the past week, but it also created dramatic sunsets and tinged the moon orange.

UNDER SMOKY SKIES Hard work and long hours bringing fires under control

By Marcy Stamper With more than 1,000 personnel attacking two large fires in the Methow, fire status has improved

significantly in the past week, with both the Buckhorn Fire at Gold Creek and the Goat Fire at Alta Lake largely within containment lines and some mop-up beginning. Most residents

of the Methow Valley north of the fires, shared the heavy smoke and unhealthy air quality with firefighters and people closer to the blazes for most of the past week.

Buckhorn almost contained

Photo by Sue Misao

Operation Section Chief Randy Whitehall briefed the night crew on the status of the Goat Fire, which was making gradual progress down a steep slope near the Alta Lake Golf Course. Firefighting efforts beginning late last week saved a communication hub used by emergency responders.

At the Buckhorn Fire, crews have continued with burnout operations on the Middle Fork of Gold Creek, setting small fires to bring the fire down the slope to meet the containment line constructed over the last week, according to U.S. Forest Service public information officer Kent Woodruff. “We worked hard to do that carefully and gently and maintain a low-intensity fire,” he said. While there is still some active burning on the northwest side, the fire is considered 75 percent contained, said Woodruff. The containment rating describes fire managers’ confidence that the fire will not burn outside its existing boundaries. Gold Creek itself is serving as one boundary, but fire crews also built a containment line along the Middle Fork of Gold Creek. They

have laid one-and-a-half miles of hose and sprinklers to use if needed, and are running active sprinklers on the houses along the Middle Fork, said Woodruff. There is still some active and creeping fire within the fire lines, but much of the fire is smoldering at this point. Overall, the Buckhorn Fire was a mixed-severity fire and many trees are expected to survive because there was not much crown fire, according to Woodruff. “We’ve been very successful in keeping the fire from becoming what could have been much larger,” he said. Isabelle Spohn and her husband spent much of the past two weeks clearing brush and wetting down their property on the Middle Fork. Spohn said she recognizes that the area will be much less susceptible to catastrophic wildfire in the future, due to the reduction of the huge amount of fuel throughout the whole drainage. “I think we all know that we have been very fortunate this fire occurred in September rather than in the heat

See FIRES on Page A6

Western wildfires will grow worse, study says Long-term trend: more and larger blazes By Ann McCreary The devastating wildfires and smoke-filled air of late summer this year is a harbinger of things to come in our region, according to wildfire and climate researchers. A study released last week predicts that the massive wildfires of 2012 are likely to be the new norm for western states in the not-too-distant future. Assembling and analyzing more than 40 years of fire data from the U.S. Forest Service for 11 western states, the research group Climate Central found a clear trend toward bigger and more frequent wildfires that occur over a longer period of time. As of August, 2012 tied the record for the most acres burned by wildfires in the West – and the wildfire sea-

son isn’t over yet. With almost two months to go in the fire season, the total area already burned this year is 30 percent greater than an average year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 8.6 million acres – an area larger than the state of Maryland – have gone up in flames. The Climate Central analysis of 42 years of Forest Service records shows that large fires are happening more often today than in the 1970s. Twice as many fires larger than 1,000 acres burned each year in the past decade compared to 40 years ago. Fires larger than 10,000 acres are burning seven times more frequently, while even larger fires – more than 25,000 acres – are burning five times more often. “Our analysis of fires on U.S. For-

Photo by Sue Misao

The Goat Fire blazed on the steep cliffs above the Alta Lake Golf Course on Monday night. Crews had prepped the golf course with fire lines and hoses to protect 26 houses there. est Service land documents a clear, long-term trend toward more and larger fires in the American West,” said study author Alyson Kenward.

MVN, pg 1

Over the past 10 years, wildfires burned twice as much land area each year as they did 40 years ago, See WILDFIRE STUDY on Page A2

Members of the North Central ATV Club returned to the Winthrop Town Council last Wednesday (Sept. 19) to address public concerns that have arisen as a result of the club’s request to open Winthrop’s streets to off-road vehicles. Around 60 people – pro and con – turned out for the meeting, which was held in the auditorium of the Barn in order to accommodate the crowd. Meeting moderator Mayor Dave Acheson said it was “not a public hearing, but I’m going to run it kind of like one,” in order to give citizens a chance to publicly comment – two minutes per person – on the club’s proposal. Acheson did not allow the public to question the proponents, although time was allowed at the end of the comment period for the mayor and council members to query the club. Spencer King of Omak, president of the NCATV Club, began by addressing emails opposed to off-road vehicles in town that the Winthrop Council had forwarded to the club. King responded to concerns about noise by comparing all-terrain vehicle (ATV) manufacturers’ allowable decibel range (between 91 and 100 dBs, depending on the model),

“East Chewuch Road is not an underutilized back country road.”

Winthrop resident Jennifer Elden

and other environmental noises, finding allowable ATV noise comparable to or less than motorcycles and snowmobiles. King also presented a list of towns in the region that currently allow ATVs, including Chewelah, Colville, Ione, Kettle Falls, Northport, Pomeroy, Republic, Okanogan, Loomis and Conconully. Garfield, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties also allow ATVs on the road, King said. The club is in dialogue with Tonasket and has been approached by Malott, said King. In response to concerns over ATV safety and liability in town, board member Ed Surette of Winthrop said that local ordinances govern requirements for liability insurance on off-road vehicles, and cited five-year accident records from Montana and Idaho that indicate 0.5 percent of motor vehicle accidents involved ATVs. Surette went on to say that ATVs are restricted to authorized roads and trails and that “tickets aren’t cheap” for violators. “We police ourselves,” Surette said, outlining some of the club’s public service efforts such as educating other ATV riders that they encounter on the trail, conducting “cleanup rides” to remote campgrounds around the county, and supporting Search and Rescue efforts. The NCATV Club organizes group rides throughout the region

See ATV on Page A2

Page A2

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Methow Valley News

Winthrop marshal requests ATV and wants to make the route from Winthrop to Conconully a change of headquarters a “destination ride,” similar to By Laurelle Walsh Moving his department out of its cramped, airless quarters under Town Hall is one of many issues on the mind of Winthrop Marshal David Dahlstrom these days. Dahlstrom made a formal request to Town Council to relocate the Marshal’s Office at last Wednesday’s (Sept. 19) meeting. Dahlstrom and officer Ken Bajema presented the council with a short video tour through the basement office, highlighting the many problems the department has with the space. The single exterior entrance down a steep flight of stairs poses several issues, said Dahlstrom, including no alternate exit route in emergencies, no access for people with disabilities, and limited visibility to the public. The subterranean office sustained water damage some years ago and mold has been found in the back room, Dahlstrom said. In addition, the space has only one small window, which is boarded up to house an air conditioner, adding “fresh air issues” to the marshal’s list of complaints. Police officers, a police clerk and the town’s court clerk all share the open plan office,

which provides no space for investigations, limited storage space, and a closet-like evidence locker “currently at storage capacity,” according to Dahlstrom. Dahlstrom told the council he would like the go-ahead to identify a new location for the department and develop a budget for the project. He said he was already looking at 28 Highway 20 (the old North Cross State Realty office), as a potential location. Mayor Dave Acheson said he would like to start seriously looking at new locations for the Marshal’s Office. Councilwoman Mort Banasky remarked that the move “is long overdue” and the current location poses liability issues for the town. Councilwoman Gaile Bryant-Cannon added that they “had been talking of relocating the office for a long time.” Councilman Rick Northcott said that Dahlstrom’s proposed location is not a long-term answer. He said they should be looking at other buildings owned by the town, such as the building that houses Aero Methow, which would soon be up for lease renewal. The council gave Dahlstrom its approval to move forward with his proposal.

Missing woman’s body apparently found Okanogan County Sheriff’s deputies last week removed a human body that was found in the Pasayten Wilderness on Sept. 18 by two hunters. Sheriff Frank Rogers said it is probable the remains are those of Melissa M. Kerrigan, who went missing in September 2011. Kerrigan, 27, who lived in Freeland on Whidbey Island, was reported missing on Sept. 29, 2011, after her car had been found at the Billygoat Trailhead north of Winthrop, Rogers said in a press release. She had left a suicide note saying that she was going into the wilderness to end her life, Rogers said. After the two hunters

found the remains, they hiked out and contacted the sheriff’s office. Last Wednesday (Sept. 19), deputies Ottis Buzzard and Michael Blake hiked back into the area with the two hunters, who showed the deputies where the remains were found. The deputies brought the body out Wednesday night. “The remains were discovered approximately 6 ½ miles into the wilderness from the Billygoat Trailhead,” Rogers said in his release. “It was very nasty terrain with a lot of down-fall.” A search had been conducted in October of 2011 but nothing was found, Rogers said.

Since 1903

Methow Valley News The only independently-owned weekly newspaper in North Central Washington

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their already established route from Conconully to Loomis, Surette said. ATV riders would like to be able to use town streets to access services in Winthrop such as gas stations, restaurants and supermarkets, he added. The club’s proposed route out of town to connect to U.S. Forest Service roads would include East Chewuch and Bear Creek roads. Of the 19 citizens who commented on the proposal, four spoke in favor of allowing ATVs in town, while 15 were opposed. Mike Hicks spends winters in Wickenburg, Ariz., where ATVs are allowed on town streets and reported “no problems” with the off-road vehicles in that town. Castle Avenue resident Vern Herrst advised the town not to “shoot yourself in the foot by prohibiting ATVs … everybody wins when ATVs come to town and spend money.” Gail Surette pointed out that not everybody is able to ride a horse or bicycle to access trails and “all people should have the right” to access recreation in the Methow Valley. Paul Tillman stated that ATVs are “less of a safety risk

From Page A1

Photo by Don Nelson

ATV club president Spencer King explains his organization’s request to the Winthrop Town Council. than bicycles or motorcycles.” Parking issues, congestion, safety, and added burdens to law enforcement were among the arguments in opposition to the proposal. Former planning commissioner Roxie Miller said that after investigating the ordinances of towns allowing ATVs, she found that they commonly did not allow off-road vehicles on major thoroughfares or highways. Miller noted that Winthrop is more congested than other towns, and added that other recreationists such as skiers and bicyclists drive to trailheads. Several commenters – Sam

WILDFIRE STUDY the study found. The average burn area in the past decade on Forest Service land in the West has exceeded two million acres per year – more than all of Yellowstone National Park. The fire season is also beginning earlier and ending later. The study found the wildfire season now lasts two and a half months – 75 days – longer than 40 years ago. “Over the same time

Owen, Caroline Sullivan, Carl Miller, Agnes Almquist, and Dennis O’Callaghan – argued that ATVs were not designed for paved roads, and are not allowed to drive above 35 miles per hour. Almquist noted printed manufacturer warnings stating that ATVs are not safe on paved roads. O’Callaghan said, “If they cannot go on the street or highway above 35 miles per hour, it seems like a moot point to be considering it at all.” East Chewuch Road resident Jennifer Elden registered her opposition to ATVs on that thoroughfare, noting no useable shoulder and heavy

traffic on the county road. “East Chewuch Road is not an underutilized back country road,” Elden said. Several commenters said they were not opposed to ATVs on trails or back roads, but didn’t want the vehicles on town streets. Duncan Bronson said that Winthrop has known traffic and congestion issues and warned that the town would be cited for “contributory negligence” if an ordinance allowing ATVs was passed. In follow-up questions, Mayor Acheson asked if other agencies – the Forest Service and Okanogan County – had granted approval for ATVs on the club’s desired route. King replied that the other agencies were waiting to hear Winthrop’s decision, adding, “Without town access, there is no reason to proceed.” Surette concluded that the NCATV Club “would like the chance to respond by email to the public’s concerns and the mayor’s questions.” North Central ATV Club was scheduled to present a similar proposal to the Twisp Town Council on Tuesday (Sept. 25). The Winthrop Town Council is expected to make a decision on allowing ATVs on town streets at its next meeting on Oct. 3. From Page A1

period, spring and summer temperatures in the West have also increased dramatically,” Kenward said. “In the not-toodistant future, as temperatures continue to rise across the West, we’re likely to see years like this a lot more often.” Those rising temperatures, along with shrinking winter snow pack, make conditions ripe for larger and more numerous wildfires.

The study, called “The Age of Western Wildfires,” also cited other factors not related to climate change that contribute to wildfire risk, including land practices, pest infestations and day-to-day weather. The study cited National Research Council reports that for every increase of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (one degree Celsius), the size of the area burned in the western United

States could quadruple. Some studies predict temperature increases between 3.6 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit by midcentury. Climate Central is a non-profit organization that conducts scientific climate research, with offices in California and New Jersey. The full study can be seen on the Climate Central website, www. climatecentral.org.

Celebrate salmon and community this Sunday Tour the Twisp Ponds, take part in a scavenger hunt, look at some new art and enjoy a community meal at the Second Annual Methow Salmon Celebration & Potluck Community Dinner this Sunday (Sept. 30). The free event, open to all ages, begins at 1 p.m. with events at the ponds, at 50 Twisp River Road. Parking

is limited so participants are asked to board the big blue bus at the TwispWorks parking lot for a ride to the location. The shuttle runs every 15 minutes. Science and art activities – including a scavenger hunt and mask making – culminate at 3:40 p.m. with a dedication ceremony honoring newly installed public art pieces by Cordelia Bradburn, Dan

Brown and Bruce Morrison. Activities move to TwispWorks beginning at about 4:30 p.m., with a potluck and salmon dinner at 5 p.m. Also included will be local music, storytelling in the salmon tent and a chalk art project. Donations will be accepted for the salmon dinner, with all proceeds benefiting the Methow Valley Interpretive Center.

The event is sponsored by the Methow Restoration Council, Methow Arts Alliance, the Methow Valley Interpretive Center and TwispWorks to honor the teamwork and community support involved in restoring salmon in the Methow. For more information contact Methow Arts Alliance at 997-4004 or amanda@ methowartsalliance.org.

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MVN, pg 2

Page A6

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Methow Valley News

FIRES

From Page A1

of the summer, and to have had an extremely high-quality team working their hardest on our behalf to prevent what could have been a catastrophic situation,” she said. Houses on the South Fork are now considered fairly secure and the evacuation there has been reduced to Level 2 (residents must be prepared to leave). Fire managers hope to be able to reduce the Level 3 evacuations (advised to leave immediately) still in place on the Middle and North forks in the next few days, said Woodruff. There was a period when some houses on the South Fork were very threatened, particularly with very high winds on Monday, Sept. 17, and less than optimal buffer zones around some of the structures, said Woodruff. “That was a crucial day,” he said. Woodruff commended the joint efforts of firefighters from two Okanogan County fire districts, the U.S. Forest Service and the state Department of Natural Resources for protecting the homes under severe conditions. “It was good luck and hard work,” he said. Fire crews are beginning mop-up and rehabilitation in parts of the Buckhorn area and will be seeding fire lines to prevent erosion, said Woodruff.

Risks reduced at Goat Fire

Crews have made good progress containing the Goat Fire at Alta Lake, which had grown to almost 7,000 acres by Tuesday (Sept. 25) from just 1,500 last Thursday.

Photo by Marcy Stamper

About 125 residents of the Alta Lake area attended an information meeting last Wednesday. Firefighters made good progress on the fire, averting a mandatory evacuation for most residents. As of Tuesday, the most problematic part of the fire was the northwest corner, where the fire had jumped containment lines over the weekend, according to public information officer Chuck Turley with Washington Incident Management Team No. 5. On Monday and Tuesday four hotshot crews created new fire lines in the area and expect to be able to complete burnout operations within the new containment lines, said Turley. The area is two to three ridges away from Black Canyon Road. Fire and emergency managers working the Goat Fire were particularly concerned last week about a key communication center high on Goat Mountain that handles dispatch for

Photo by Sue Misao

Ray and Debbie Lewis endured days of smoke and noise from helicopter operations near their house on the main road to Alta Lake, but were feeling reassured by progress on the fire by Monday night. Here they sat on their front steps, enjoying the show as the fire burned in the hills behind their home.

Okanogan County law enforcement, emergency medical services and fire, according to Okanogan County Emergency Manager Scott Miller. On Thursday (Sept. 20) the fire had burned to the edge of a 50-foot gravel buffer on one side of the communication hub, said Miller. As of Tuesday, the communication site was secure and considered out of danger, said Miller. Firefighters attacked it with retardant and kept the fire from completely encircling the tower, although it did burn threequarters of the perimeter, said Miller. The towers are still being patrolled, said Turley. Had the communication facility been damaged, it would have wiped out emergency communications for southern Okanogan County – primarily Brewster and Pateros – and for much of the Methow Valley and for Coulee Dam, said Miller. It is also used for northern Chelan and Douglas counties and the Washington State Patrol and Department of Transportation. Two other communication sites, used by the Forest Service and for television signals, were also threatened but appear to be secure, said Turley. The companies and agencies that use the towers will probably go up on Friday to assess the situation, he said. The strategy for fighting the fire was to contain its edges on the high ridge and wait for it to progress in small fingers down the steep cliff face above the golf course, according to Carl West, deputy incident commander for the fire-management team. Since then, the fire has been moving slowly down the rocky slopes, giving firefighters time to create fire lines behind the golf course with bulldozers and to lay hoses for use if necessary, said Turley. Some of the fire may not burn beyond the last ridge, he said. Because of the extremely harsh terrain, the Goat Fire has presented

Photo by Sue Misao

Jeff Lloyd, a firefighter from Bridgeport, Calif., watched as the helicopter that had been dropping fire retardant on the Goat Fire siphoned water in the process of cleaning its 1,000-gallon bladder of the residual chemicals. The entire tank of these “sky cranes” can be filled in just 30 seconds. unique challenges, said Matt Castle, fire management officer for the Methow Valley Ranger District. “We’re transferring the risk to helicopter pilots from firefighters on the ground,” he said after a public information meeting last week. Fire managers had anticipated having to issue a Level 3 evacuation order for 66 houses in the area by last weekend, but retardant and fire lines slowed the blaze and made this unnecessary. A Level 3 evacuation affecting five residences in the Quiet Valley was reduced to Level 2 on Tuesday. Other areas, including homes on the golf course, remain at Level 2.

Some crews heading home

Much of the crew working on the two fires will be departing, after putting in 15- to 16-hour days for 14 days straight, said Turley. Crews can

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get a one-week extension with the necessary approval – and a two-day break – but Turley said they do not anticipate the need for that many firefighters in the coming week. While the main team was from Oregon, firefighters working on the Goat Fire came from as far as Maine, Tennessee and Alaska. They will retain four helicopters, which are being shared by the Buckhorn and Goat fires, for contingency operations. The Buckhorn, Hunter and Leecher fires were caused by lightning on Sept. 8. The Goat Fire has been determined to have been human caused, said Turley. It remains under investigation by the Methow Valley Ranger District. The Hunter and Leecher fires are in mop-up, with some smoldering within the containment lines, said Woodruff.

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