Wildfires are a prominent, recurring issue in the Eastern Washington region.
This dilemma affects the people who work for County parks, as they try to maintain a safe environment and detect any wrongdoings that might lead to a wildfire. Dave Mahan is the Superintendent of Whitman County Parks and a ranger. He is familiar with people causing fires at his parks.
“Last august I approached three students who were camp firing and I told them to stop,” Mahan said. They refused, next thing you know the wild fire covered over 11,000 acres, lasting a week of closure.”
The incident occurred during a time when the fire risk was extremely high, meaning more dry timber, which is susceptible to burn upon any person’s mishaps when camping. Park rangers on this side of the state deal with much more dry and hot conditions, meaning they must be equipped and reactionary to fires that occur.
“We take precautions and fire restrictions, we’ll put out a notice to notify people about not doing campfires and smoking to mediate risk,” Mahan said. “At Kamiak Butte, we have locked boxes strategically placed that have firefighting equipment in them for quick access to fight fires.”
The preparedness of a park ranger in Eastern Washington is vital. Otherwise in a matter of seconds, many acres of forest might be on fire. Then comes the hard part, taming it.
“You don’t have to think about that stuff over there (western Washington) because it’s so wet. If you start a grass fire in a canyon, that fire will move faster than you can run.”
Mahan also credited the influx of new students every four years to some of the occurring fires, meaning Whitman County Parks must often reexplain their protocols and expectations to those camping.
“Every four years, we turnover so many people due to the university, so constantly new people are coming in and we have to reteach how to limit wildfires.”
Yes, this region is drier than the west side of Washington, but there is a much more explainable cause for the wildfires, specifically how they spread. Pine beetles are native to western North America and have ignited numerous wildfires in Canada, ultimately seeping down into Washington and Idaho.
“We do have them in the park and they’ve made an impact, they’re a naturally occurring pest,” Mahan said. “Anytime you have dead timber in a park, it’s a fire danger.”
Pine beetles attack old and weakened tree’s, making a young forest older quicker. Plant Pathologist and Extension Specialist Gary Chastagner of WSU Puyallup commented on this root cause.
“The mortality cause by the pine beetles increases the fuel risk, which increases the severity of the wildfire,” Chastagner said.
Once the fires start, they are often hard to contain due to the difficulty of finding angles to fight them.
“Another issue is fighting fires where there’s no roads, your either fighting them on foot or by air,” Mahan said. “There’s no access for firefighting vehicles.”
County parks in this region must take tremendous amount of precaution due to the dry Summer climates that they deal with. With that being said, it is impossible for ranger’s to be everywhere at once, meaning campers must be aware of their surroundings.
“Be aware and be vigilant, not just of themselves but other people,” Mahan said. “It’s best for people to watch out and if they see something funny they can let us know.”
Kamiak Butte recently reopened on September 20th after being closed for 12 days due to fire concerns.
Outline
- Introduction to wildfires in region and how its dry over here
- Pine Beetles and how they affect these fires
- How park rangers ensure safety and what measures they can take
Sources
- Dave Mahan-Whitman County Parks Superintendent, Park Ranger (509) 397-6238
- Gary Chastagner-Plant Pathologist and Extension Specialist, WSU Puyallup (253) 445-4528
- Didn’t get a third source after desperately trying.
Tyler Shuey 