Tim Gonzales from Bureau of Land Management

Who are those people you catch glimpses of as you drive along back roads or walk across the parking lot? They’re setting small fires from place to place, and blocking off the areas so we can’t even take advantage of the opportunity and roast marshmallows.

They’re from the Bureau of Land Management, and they’re just doing their job. Believe it or not, part of their job is to prevent forest fires. What is now an annual program carried out in spring began with the 2001 institution of the National Fire Plan. (NFP) This plan. Funding for federal and state agencies, along with local communities, was approved by Congress in order to carry out the NFP. The goal is to rehabilitate areas damaged by fire or by firefighting efforts, reduce the risk of hazardous fires and implement firefighting methods when fires do break out, along with providing help for communities at risk of or already affected by firestorms.

In Josephine County, the process is already under way for the year. The BLM typically reduces hazardous fuels in Josephine County in four phases. They begin by cutting dense, small diameter vegetation, pile the slash, burn the piles, and then burn the residual slash. The fourth phase, underburning, started in May. The purpose is to reduce the chance of catastrophic wildfires and their detrimental effects. Approximately 2000 acres per year are treated. The decision is made by defining the areas of highest priority.

These high priority areas are typically where the forest meets urban development. This is called the Wildland Urban Interface. (WUI) There are many areas where very dense brush and overcrowded trees abut private property. The last few years has seen urban sprawl place homes quite close to extremely dangerous wildfire areas. This ecosystem has been fire dependent for centuries, because frequent fires control the vegetation density, but the suppression of wildfires without re-introducing them has caused an unnatural fire regime, thus creating an extremely volatile fire potential.

The process returns the ecosystem to a more natural condition. After thinning, the remaining trees have less competition and are healthier because they get an abundance of water and nutrients. It also reduces the risk of crown fires. Crown fires are particularly voracious fires, named for their spread from treetop to treetop. This thinning also provides escape and evacuation routes for the public, along with safe access for firefighters. Dense brush fields which are located near homes are removed in order to prevent damage to residential areas.

The process can be a bit tricky. A detailed fire plan is of the utmost necessity. The plan must analyze fire patterns and take into consideration the needed equipment and ideal weather conditions. When this has been accomplished and weather conditions are perfect, fire managers begin to light fire across the top of the unit in strips. These units may be as small as ten acres or as large as one hundred. The fire strips cool down before the next one is lit, and this pattern continues until the area is lightly burned. With fire trucks, pumps, hose, chainsaws, and hand tools nearby, firefighters become fire prevention specialists.

This type of work requires both courage and education. This particular project is headed up by Allen Mitchell, lead Fuels Specialist, and under the watchful eye of Tim Gonzales, a fire mitigation and education specialist. Mr. Gonzales has 28 years of firefighting and prescribed fire experience. He served as a fire engine captain with the U.S. Forest Service from 1989 through 2002, attacking hundreds of wildfires, and then joined the Bureau of Land Management. His work consists of planning fuel reduction projects, educating the public on the benefits of hazardous fuels reduction, and assisting the community through the JoCo Integrated Fire Plan. In addition, Gonzales investigates the causes of wildfires. He acts as a Division Supervisor, Safety Officer, and Incident Commander Type 3 on larger fires.

For those who wish to know where these areas of burning are occuring this spring, Mr. Gonzales has detailed the locations, which occur across 357 acres of land and are as follows:

Berlin Mummer Unit 11-A, 25 acres. T35S, R6W, S11. This unit is 3 miles NE of Merlin and abuts Interstate 5. The unit is directly west of the freeway.

Berlin Mummer Unit 11-INT, 73 acres. T35S, R6W, S11. This unit is 3 miles NE of Merlin and abuts Interstate 5. The unit is directly east of the freeway.

Bowhill Unit 1, 40 acres. T35S, R6W, S14. This unit is 2 miles east of Merlin. There is a cell tower on Josephine County land just north of the unit.

These 3 units are accessed by Monument Drive and may impact visibility on Interstate 5 between mileposts 63-65. Oregon DOT will provide signs for the freeway.

Queen Shines Unit 29-5, 35 acres. T34S, R6W, S29. This unit is 5 miles north of Merlin.

Shiney Queen Unit 23-1, 75 acres. T34S, R7W, S23. This unit is 6 miles northwest of Merlin.

These 2 units are accessed by Quartz Creek Road which is off of Hugo Road.

North Murphy Unit 21-A, 109 acres. T37S, R4W, S21. This unit is 4 miles northeast of Provolt and is accessed via Foots Creek Road from Rogue River. -Gina Locke