The puff of smoke that jumped off Boulder Ridge Trail on the Fourth of July
was a stark reminder of the danger that lurks in our forest community.

The weather has been hot and dry, turning the woods into a tinderbox.
The Boulder Ridge fire was small – about a quarter acre on BLM land – but
could have been much worse if not for the quick response of the Forest
Service.

“Two Forest Service engines did the initial attack,” said Rick Acosta, public
affairs officer for Mt. Hood National Forest. “The fire was then turned back to
Oregon Department of Forestry after containment for monitoring.”

Fireworks were the reported cause of the blaze.

While the Forest Service went into action, Hoodland Fire Chief Mic Eby saw the
smoke but was not required to respond due to the distance required to get to
the site.

“I was dyin’ to go,” Eby said. “Instead, we just watched it.”
Fortunately, that was the only incident on the Fourth, Eby said. “People were
good about their fireworks this year. There were some illegal fireworks, but
they were safe.”

On July 21 ODF put into effect restrictions on all private and BLM forest lands
in Clackamas County. These restrictions include:
— A ban on smoking in the forest, except in closed vehicles;
— A ban on open fires, including campfires, charcoal fires, cooking fires and
warming fires, except in designated campgrounds;
— A ban on chainsaw use between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. in any area under
Industrial Fire Precaution level 1 or 2;
— A ban on vehicles, including motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, except on
improved roads or for the commercial harvest of agricultural crops;
— A ban on fireworks;
— A ban on blasting and exploding targets between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.;
— A ban on cutting, grinding and welding metal between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.;
and
— A ban on mowing dry or cured grass with power-driven equipment between
10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

On July 24 increased restrictions were imposed on fire wood cutting and other
industrial activities within the entire Mt. Hood National Forest.

A Level III Partial Shutdown is now in effect – shutting down all fire wood
cutting by members of the public even though they may have a fire wood
permit. The area affected is the entire Barlow Ranger District and the eastern
portion of Hood River Ranger District of Mt. Hood National Forest. Familiar to
industrial operators as Unit 1, the area is located east of Hwy. 35 and east-
southeast of the Hwy. 35-Hwy. 26 junction.

The fire danger is high in all fire precaution units of Mt. Hood National Forest,
Acosta said, but there are no other public use restrictions at this time.

“If campers have need of a camp fire, they are encouraged to be very careful,
keep their fires small, and to have their fire surrounded by an effective fire
ring which keeps the fire contained,” he said.

People leaving camp fires unattended can be cited and held responsible for all
fire suppression costs.