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2015 Fire Season Early & Severe

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MEDFORD, Ore., — Senator Ron Wyden made a last minuted stop at Medford’s BLM office. During a debriefing he met with several wildfire suppression and wildfire prevention experts from the Rogue Valley.  The Democrat had two goals in mind at the meeting: get an early outlook on the 2015 wildfire season in southern Oregon and learn more about a partnership known as AFR or Ashland Forest Resiliency Stewardship Program.

The most recent snow survey results, released Thursday, show at it’s best southern Oregon is at 16% of where the snow pack should be.  The Klamath Basin is showing just 10% of average amounts. While the rain is measuring at 93%, it’s the snow which provides much needed irrigation and moisture into the late summer months. With that in mind, wildfire experts expect this season to be both early and severe. The BLM and ODF have already scheduled a fire school training camp for April, much earlier than normal.

Senator Wyden also heard from a handful of the estimated 60 groups in the AFR partnership. The program includes federal, state, and city agencies, as well as private businesses, citizens, and large and small non profits. AFR is half way through its 10 year commitment to decreasing fire fuels, creating healthier forests, and preserve water quality.  One of the main ways AFR accomplishes this is through controlled burns and forest thinning. Senator Wyden said the model is getting attention from leaders in Washington D.C. and he believes it is the future of forestry policy. The Ashland Forest Resiliency Stewardship Program was awarded just over $2 million from the USDA to continue its efforts.

During Thursday’s meeting Wyden also discussed the longstanding issue with wildfire funding. In years with a severe wildfire season, money for fire suppression is regularly “borrowed” from funds delegated to wildfire prevention. This method leaves prevention funding for efforts following the season and in the next year depleted. Many in the wildfire and forestry community consider this robbing Peter to pay Paul.  In January, Senator Wyden joined up with Senator Mike Crapo, of Idaho, to introduce the bipartisan bill known as “Reforming Wildfire Funding Needs Immediate Action to Protect Rural America.” Wyden says the bill would allow the largest, most catastrophic wildfires to qualify as natural disasters, allowing them to get funding from a separate part of the federal budget. This would account for roughly 1% of wildfires.


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