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Fire & Home Safety:
Stoves
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Prevention & Handling
Firewood
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Colestin General Interest:
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More links will follow
as we continue to
develop this site.
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Last update: Mon. Jan. 23rd, 2012
UPDATE: The first FIREFIGHTER TRAINING, scheduled for Friday, January 20th, was CANCELLED due to the past week's snow and weather conditions. This training will be rescheduled as soon as possible; stay tuned. For firefighter and 1st Responder (EMR) training info, see Firefighter Training.
Fire Service Appreciation Day: According to The Communique, Annual Fire Service Appreciation Day is held in late January every year. In keeping with passage of HJR 25, events are held across the state to recognize and honor the fire service. HJR 25 'encourages all citizens of Oregon to recognize and honor our fire service members for their efforts to keep our citizens safe from the ravages of fire.' Communities across the state have "an opportunity to host a variety of events recognizing members of their local fire departments and districts for their dedication, commitment and sacrifice."
You may have noticed the large fire safety awareness signs that have been in rotation on our fire danger indicator sign structure near Hilt (just south of the CA-OR border) following the end of the 2011 fire season. (The current sign asks, "Do you have a fire plan?" with a diagram of possible escape routes.)
These signs were done and donated to our district by Patty Hood of CalFire. A huge thanks to Patty, for providing these very visible signs, readable from the road, to enhance fire safety in our valley!
HELP WITH FUEL REDUCTION
AND OAK WOODLAND RESTORATION:
For those who are thinking ahead, since these projects need advance planning, here is some information for you to consider:
The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, run out of the Klamath Falls Fish and Wildlife Office, is available to help private landowners restore oak woodland.
"The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program works with private landowners and other partners providing financial and technical assistance to achieve voluntary habitat restoration," according to the Program brochure.
The Program also includes assistance in identifying areas that could benefit from prescribed fire, and in connecting landowners with additional organizational resources in order to help fund and carry out approved prescribed burning plans. (Due to multiple such events during the fall of 2011, prescribed burns now also need to be coordinated with the fire district, partly for fire safety and partly because of the need to limit smoke in the valley.)
Dave Ross, Fish and Wildlife Biologist with the Klamath office, says that they have experience working together with both the Lomakatsi Restoration Project and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, with each organization handling a different aspect of a project, several of which have successfully occurred here in the Colestin valley in recent years.
"All three of us work closely together in partnership fashion to leverage funding, expertise and programs," Ross says.
He encourages anyone interested to:
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contact him directly:David A. Ross
Fish and Wildlife Biologist
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
Klamath Falls Fish and Wildlife Office
1936 California Ave.
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
For further information about partner organizations, contact:
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The Natural Resources Conservation Service: Erin Kurtz, 541-776-4267 ext. 108
Winter Fire Safety Considerations:
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REMINDER: Keep your STOVE STACKS and CHIMNEYS clean. Stove pipes should be cleaned before the start of wood-burning season, and once a month thereafter for regular to heavy stove use.
For lots of useful info on stove safety, flue fires, how to prevent flue fires, and how to handle one if it happens, see our Stoves & Flue Fires page.
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REPLACE ALL of your SMOKE DETECTOR BATTERIES. Many home fires are discovered too late, not because there are no smoke detectors, BUT BECAUSE THE BATTERIES HAVE FAILED. The few minutes this takes can significantly enhance your home fire protection.
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Last December (2010) we sent our district members "Winter Fire Safety & Winter Preparedness Reminders" red cards (folded flyers). These can be viewed and printed here: PDF file format; 2 pages, or 1 page front & back:
Winter Fire Safety & Winter Preparedness Card - Page 1 (print using Vertical alignment in page Set-up)
Winter Fire Safety & Winter Preparedness Card - Page 2 (print using Horizontal alignment in page Set-up)
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Based on the types of problems and incidents the District has experienced in the past several winters, we sent out a pamphlet brochure to our district members during the winter of 2008-09, covering many key points of Winter Emergency Preparedness and Home Safety Reminders. For more info and to view or print the brochure, see WINTER EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLANNING & SAFETY.
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During the winter months, keep DRIVEWAYS AND ACCESS ROADS to your residence as clear as possible. We need to be able to reach you in winter - yet snow loads can cause trees and branches overhanging roads or driveways to break, delaying or preventing us from arriving. Keep your driveway plowed, and trim back or remove tree branches near and over driveways, BEFORE potential fire situations require emergency access. Caution Reminder: If power drop lines are involved, call us first. Power companies are NOT responsible for these - property owners are - yet drop lines are dangerous and need special handling. We will try to assist you to locate a qualified professional to do it. MORE INFO: The Jan.-Feb. 2008 issue of The Colestin Valley Buzz community newsletter featured an excellent article explaining electrical drop lines and safety issues: Trees and Electrical Lines Don't Mix! (PDF format).
A ROAD SAFETY REMINDER: Please watch out for Emergency Vehicles on our roadways. Some of us are driving too fast in general, and some people have nearly hit our district vehicles in their haste to get down the road. Not only is this dangerous for everyone, but it jeopardizes our district's effectiveness, particularly during emergencies. We need to be more careful and considerate of others on our roads. And if you hear or see that we are running on an Emergency code (flashing lights and/or siren), PULL OVER TO THE SIDE AND LET OUR VEHICLES PASS. Thank you for your cooperation on this.
Home Safety Reminders:
- Do NOT leave home with the clothes dryer still on. Overheating is an all-too-common problem. To lessen this fire danger, clean your dryer filters often, and clean the dryer duct at least once a year.
- Make sure that all electrical appliances are turned off before you leave your residence for any length of time.
Preparedness and prevention is your best defense. For further information, see our Home and Personal Safety page, or call us at (541) 488-1768.
A warm thank you to everyone who attended our Annual Fire District PICNIC BBQ on Sunday September 25th!
And many thanks to all those who helped to make the picnic and the wonderful food happen again this year.
At this year's picnic, a number of District volunteers were recognized for their services to the District; recently retired district veteran Cheri Avgeris received special recognition (see below). Our Events page has more.
Long-time CRFD member Cheri Avgeris retired this past January from the Fire District after over 28 years of volunteer service to our community. A Board member for nearly all of the past 28 years as well as a firefighter and a First Responder throughout these years, Cheri later became our Medical Director for the District's First Responder Emergency Medical Services.
Recently at our annual community picnic, Cheri was given public recognition and honored for her long years of selflessly dedicated service and commitment to the District, complementing a commemorative plaque presented to her by the Board upon her retirement this past year. A brief overview of Cheri's many contributions is available on our Personnel page.
During lightning storms, we rely heavily on the Soda Mountain fire
lookout, staffed for the past 24 years by Ken Struck and
his wife. Situated twelve miles east of Ashland and over 6,000 feet
high, with a bird's-eye view of our district, Ken watches storms,
and tracks lightning hits, smoke, and new fire starts using binoculars
and a firefinder to pinpoint the exact locations.
Soda Mountain is one of ODF's two last full-time manned fire lookouts in the Southwest Oregon District, as people are replaced by technology at fire lookout stations. Paul Fattig's recent article in the Medford Mail Tribune is a tribute to Ken and the work he does, as well as an interesting history of the Soda Mountain lookout station.
We in the Colestin-Hilt district continue to greatly appreciate Ken's watchful presence and long-experienced, knowledgeable assistance from Soda Mountain, particularly during lightning storms, and in general, throughout each fire season.
Read Paul Fattig's article " Fire-watcher
era nears end: With cameras increasingly replacing human
lookouts, Ken Struck, who mans the Soda Mountain station, is among
the last of a rare breed." Originally published on Wed. July
28th, 2010, in the Medford Mail Tribune;
available online at: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100728/NEWS/7280319.
Karen Dwyer, a Co-proprietor of the local ZabaraH Bellydance Company, organized a BENEFIT for the Colestin Rural Fire District this past spring to help raise funds for much-needed life-saving medical or other equipment that is not within our regular budget.
The BELLYDANCE BENEFIT for the Fire District was held on the evening of June 11th at the ZabaraH Dance Studio here in the Colestin valley. The event included an elegant 5-course Moroccan dinner, with entertainment provided by the ZabaraH bellydancers in between courses, and a Raffle.
Thanks to lots of community interest and support, the benefit event sold out, and was a very fun and entertaining evening while helping our local fire district! Thanks to all who purchased tickets both for the dinner and the raffle in support of this benefit!! Event details are on our Community Forum page.
Community Forum page UPDATE: If you provide
goods or services locally here in the valley and are also a resident
community member, you are welcome to submit your relevant information
to us for posting on our Community Forum page. Details.
JACKSON COUNTY FORESTLAND-URBAN INTERFACE CLASSIFICATION COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND HEARING:
Public meetings followed by a hearing have recently been held for the purpose of explaining Jackson County Forestland-Urban Interface Classification Committee's land identification and classification process, as part of the implementation of the Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Act, often referred to as Senate Bill 360.
The Jackson County Forestland-Urban Interface Classification Committee and the Oregon Department of Forestry sent letters to more than 13,000 landowners within Jackson county informing them of five public meetings that were held in January 2011. The meetings were to explain the land identification and classification process performed by the committee, as required by the Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Act, often referred to as Senate Bill 360.
The owners of lots affected by the Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Act are required to create fuel breaks around their homes and other structures to make homes and other buildings more defensible against wildfire.
For further information, see our Rural-Urban Forest Interface Fire Prevention page.
Our Proposed Budget for
Fiscal Year 2011-2012 is posted and available for public
review here on our website's budget page.
A Notice of [the] Budget Hearing
is also posted on the budget page.
QUICK TAKES:
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For the latest reported news on fires, see:
The Oregon Department of Forestry website at: http://www.swofire.oregon.gov/ and their Wildfires page at: http://www.swofire.oregon.gov/ODF/FIRE/fire.shtml, which has links at the top to "Fire Stats, Info and Updates," fires chronologies, and more.For further ODF Southwest Oregon District fire information, see: http://twitter.com/swofire and http://swofire.blogspot.com/, and
The CAL-FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) website at: http://www.fire.ca.gov/, which has links to a listing of fire incidents.
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Will you be doing any landscaping on your property? Check out the OSU Extension Service's brochure, "Fire-Resistant Plants for Oregon Home Landscapes," available online, and from Jackson County's OSU partnership office, the Southern Oregon Research & Extension Center (SOREC), at 569 Hanley Road, Central Point OR 97503; Phone: (541) 776-7371 Fax: (541) 773-7373; Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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What would you do in a fire emergency? Your local fire district has a plan. Check it out on our Colestin-Hilt Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) page.
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2010 was the centennial anniversary of 1910's Big Burn, the firestorm that burned millions of acres in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Also called the Big Blowup of 1910, the firestorm was the result of multiple fires that started in June and merged on August 20th, burning three million acres in just twenty-four hours, and killing 84 people. The U.S. Forest Service headed centennial commemmorations. You can learn more at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/1910-centennial/. The July-Aug. issue of AAA's "Via" magazine (p. 17) also has a short article on this.
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Get the LATEST WEATHER FORECAST for the SOUTHERN OREGON & SISKIYOU MOUNTAINS region using links on our Weather & Fire Weather page. For weather warning updates, check our region on the National Weather Service's website at: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/.
Colestin's name (finally spelled correctly!) makes the news: See The Mail Tribune on Sunday, November 16th, 2008, for reporter Paul Fattig's article entitled
"Drop the 'e' and keep your hands up where we can see them: It's Colestin, not Colestine; got it?"
or use the following link:
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081116/NEWS/811160311
Also In This Bulletin:
Jackson County Integrated Fire Plan - Upcoming Community Meetings |
Upcoming Board Meetings:
Next Board Meeting:
Friday, February 10th, 2012, at 6:00 PM
at the Hilt Community Church.
The Agenda will be posted here prior to the meeting.
Want to know what's happening? Read the Board Minutes! Limited archives also available.
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Jackson County Integrated Fire Plan
Planned Community Wildfire Meetings are part of countywide
wildfire protection. Discussion topics include information you need
to live safely in wildfire country, the fire planning process, how your
neighborhood can be more wildfire safe, and meeting your local fire
service providers. Representatives from local Jackson County Fire Districts,
Oregon Department of Forestry, Rogue River/Siskiyou National Forest,
and Medford BLM attend these meetings.
For information about any currently planned community meetings, contact:
Randy Iverson, Fire Chief Jackson County Fire District #3 (541) 826-7100
Brian Ballou, Fire Prevention Specialist, Oregon Dept. of Forestry (541)
664-3328
Neil Benson, Jackson County Integrated Fire Plan (541) 482-4682
Chris Chambers, Wildfire Fuels Reduction Coordinator, Ashland Fire &
Rescue (541) 552-206
View
ODF's September, 2005, News bulletin as a pdf file.
(This requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher, FREE if you need to download
it.)
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UPDATE on the West-Wide Energy Corridor DPEIS
- the Decision & background
The WEST WIDE ENERGY CORRIDOR DPEIS [Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement]:
UPDATE: In August, 2008, the BLM's Medford district office published a "Record of Decision and Resource Management Plan" for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument which includes information indicating that the energy corridor under discussion has been sited near the Klamath area and to the east of Ashland instead of running through our valley. Copies of this document are available from the BLM at its Medford District Office, 3040 Biddle Rd., Medford, OR., 97504.
The following concerns CRFD's position on the federal West-wide Energy Corridor DPEIS (Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement), concerning the 3,500-foot wide power corridor that could have run directly through our district. The public comment period on the draft plans ended on February 14th, 2008.
At the January, 2008, Board meeting, Lisa [Buttrey] provided the Board with background information and maps, pointed out issues of concern, and suggested talking points about this project.
The law allowing for the creation of this project was passed in 2005; the plan itself was released in mid-November of 2007. The plan is to have a 2/3rds-mile-wide pipeline/power-line corridor in the Valley. A number of these corridors are proposed throughout the west to handle the power sources (propane, gas, etc.) that is needed to keep up with increasing fuel needs in the country.
After discussion at the January meeting, the Board took the position that this area is not the best to locate this project. Not only are there environmental and geological concerns, but also the financial costs of going through the Siskiyou Mountains would be astronomical. Areas of eastern Oregon, which are flat and uninhabited, would be a far better place to locate the project.
The Board passed a motion directing the fire district, as the local agency, to send a letter outlining these concerns, as the project is currently proposed. Peggy Moore, as the Board Chair, was appointed to write the letter on behalf of the District.
The CRFD's letter in response to the West Wide Energy Corridor DPEIS follows:
January 20, 2008
West-wide Energy Corridor D[P]EIS
9700 S Cass Avenue – Bldg 900, Mail Stop 4
Argonne, IL 60439
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At our January 18th Board of Directors meeting, we passed a unanimous motion to provide written comments on the proposed Corridor (#4-247) through the Siskiyou Crest from Oregon into California. As the fire protection agency that is responsible for this area (for both fire and emergency medical) we STRONGLY oppose locating the corridor in this area.
There are a variety of reasons for our concerns but we believe the environmental, geological and financial arguments are the most salient and deserve your focused attention.
. The Colestin Valley and Siskiyou Pass area are well known as unstable in terms of their geology. Siskiyou literally means “moving mountain”. Slumps, shifts and collapses are fairly frequent in the area. As a result of one of these natural occurrences the Colestin Valley must now employ a receiver to rebroadcast telephone signals because the cable was rendered unusable by earth movement along its route.
. Interstate 5 is a vital transportation highway from Mexico to Alaska. Many of the trucks using this route on a daily basis carry toxic wastes, including nuclear waste. In addition, essential supplies of all kinds are hauled on this route day and night. Accidents happen frequently, sometimes closing the highway or rending one lane or another impassable.
. This particular stretch along Interste 5 (proposed corridor #4-247) is the longest stretch of 6% grade on the interstate system. Along with instability and bottleneck problems, the expense of putting lines across the Siskiyou Pass would be enormous. There are certainly locations in the state of Oregon that are flat, have far less interstate traffic and reside in more geologically stable environments. Areas in sparsely populated Eastern Oregon might be a consideration.
. The proposal, as we understand it, will make the Klamath River dam substation a destination for the proposed energy corridor. In doing so, you are targeting a substation connected to a dam that may soon be dismantled when court-ordered priority concerns for Klamath River salmon prevent re-licensing of Klamath River dams.
. The energy corridor segment, which is proposed for California’s Jenny Creek Falls, is a Redding BLM area of critical environmental concern.
We appreciate that when notified by many concerned citizens you moved the original 3,500 foot energy corridor out of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, but we still believe that for the reasons stated above, putting it in this region at all is a serious mistake.
We are a small, entirely volunteer fire district that, for 25 years, has provided needed fire and emergency medical services to the residents of our community. We simply do not have the resources, nor are more likely to appear, to support a crisis occasioned by a “mega” corridor .The location of our area makes it difficult (and at times impossible) for outside agencies to respond in a timely fashion.
We believe, once these facts are reviewed and the costs of locating the corridor in this area thoroughly researched that [the desirability of] finding a more geologically friendly, more cost effective and less populated traffic area will become clear.
We would be happy to provide further information to you on this matter. Thank you for your attention to our concerns and we hope that you will find a more hospitable location for this project.
Sincerely yours,
Peggy A. Moore
Chairperson
Colestin Rural Fire District
Board of Directorsc. Chief Avgeris
Board
The comment period ended February 14th, 2008. Thank you to
all those of you who submitted your comments to the West-wide Energy
Corridor D[P]EIS planners.
For further information, see the West Side Energy Corridor website:
For a more complete, easy-to-understand summary of the plan as it may affect us locally, together with issues to consider, maps, and further information, see the (PDF-format) article "West-wide Energy Corridors Routes Planned," published in the Jan.-Feb. 2008 issue of The Colestin Valley Buzz, and re-published here with publisher Lisa Buttrey's permission.
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Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) News:
In June, 2005, the Fire Plan Committee (John Ames, Elaine Shanafelt, and Lisa Buttrey) completed and released the Colestin-Hilt Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) that was in the works for over a year. In addition to a public presentation of the main points of the plan by Committee Chair and Coordinator Lisa Buttrey at the community barbeque on Saturday, June 18th, the plan is now available in detail here on our site, through our Colestin-Hilt Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) page.
"The completed plan," according to Lisa Buttrey, "has an Intro section, a Description section, a brief 'Risks' section, and finally the meat of the document in the last section, 'The Action Plan,' followed by the 'Appendices.' "The Action Plan gives detailed ideas for things to do and calls for volunteers to do them. [We] hope to get a few 'Action' items assigned to willing takers (from outside the fire department proper!)."
The Plan has an enormous wealth of information in it, and reflects a tremendous amount of time, extensive research, many meetings with other fire agency and county officials, and hard work. The result is a document that provides a working plan of action for our community to pro-actively achieve a much better level of fire prevention and protection and disaster preparedness than we have ever known. We are also now in compliance, ahead of schedule, and coordinated with the County's new regional fire plan. Check out the Plan on our CWPP page.
Also of interest are some very interesting articles that were edited out of the final CWPP: "Geology of the Districts," a summary by local resident Russell Juncal, and according to Lisa, "very readable for all residents." The second is "Fire Regimes, Fire History and Forest Conditions in the Klamath-Siskiyou Region: An Overview and Synthesis of Knowledge, by Evan J. Frost and Rob Sweeney. Lisa states that this is "a scientific paper, quite lengthy at 59 pages, but full of info about fire history, fire regimes, suppression history, logging impact on fire, etc." A third article that was not considered part of the official plan but that is also relevant is a Homeowner's Safety Checklist from the Fire Safe Council. All of these articles are now available through our CWPP page as well.
Josephine County's Plan, by comparison: On January 18, 2006, the Oregon Dept. of Forestry announced in a press release that Josephine County's Integrated Fire Plan has been awarded statewide recognition: "Josephine County was recently chosen to receive the 2005 Partners for Disaster Resistance and Resilience Outstanding Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. Josephine County was recognized for the collaborative planning effort that resulted in the Josephine County Integrated Fire Plan..." To learn more about how our neighboring county has prepared a fire plan that has now been recognized throughout the state of Oregon, read the full text of ODF's Josephine County Integrated Fire Plan press release (Jan. 18, 2006).
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CWPP Phone Tree and Road Signage Projects
The "New & Improved Emergency Phone Tree" and Road Signage are two other developments related to our Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Read more.
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OUR FEMA STRUCTURE-FIRE ENGINE
After nearly a two-year wait while CDF built the engine for us, and after outfitting it with parts, our long-awaited FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)-financed structure fire engine, Engine No. 44-13,was finished and put into full-time service in the fall of 2004. It is housed at Station No. 1 at Colestin, in the center of the district. Photos and more info.
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HILT VOLUNTEER HOSE COMPANY'S FIRE & RESCUE RIG
During part of the 2004 fire season, Colestin and Hilt volunteers helped
staff the Hornbrook CDF Station. The proceeds from that effort enabled
the Hilt Department to procure a new rescue rig (Hilt Rescue Vehicle
44-41). Photo
on Vehicles page.
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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS:
COUGAR ALERT:
We need to continue to be aware of cougars near our homes. For updated details on local cougar attacks, information on cougar behavior, and safety tips for cougar encounters, see our community page.
DEAD DEER:
SPECIAL NOTE: Dead deer have been found in our area, due to a virus disease. If you find one, the OR. Dept. of Fish & Wildlife requests that you report it to Steve Neimela at (541) 826-8774 x239. See our community forum page for details.