BY BRIAN BALLOU

Photo AP/Jeff Barnard Flames continued to burn among the remains of a house that burned in the Deer Creek fire Aug. 26, near Selma, Ore. The fire burned on about 1,800 acres of dense forest mixed with homes.

The 2005 fire season arrived late across much of the West Coast. Warm rains lingered well into spring, fueling a bumper crop of grass and wildflowers that, when cured, fueled fires from Southern California to northeastern Washington.

Snow fell in the Pacific Northwest’s mountains into May, but east of the Cascades the region remained relatively dry. Oregon as a whole received rainfall that reached 110–200 percent of the state’s yearly average, while Washington received rainfall that reached 70–130 percent of its yearly average. As a result, the Northwest Interagency Coordinating Center predicted the Pacific Northwest’s 2005 fire season was going to be significantly milder than the previous year.

Washington & Oregon
Temperatures climbed in the Pacific Northwest during mid-July, and mid-slope forest fires began to occur. The Wasson Fire started on July 26 when a vehicle accident caused a grassfire adjacent to a state highway in the southern Oregon Cascade Range. Pushed by upcanyon winds, the flames spread rapidly through heavy forest fuels and burrowed into deep, steep canyons. Officials closed the state highway intermittently as the fire threatened to jump the road. For the next three days, an aggressive air attack slowed the fire’s run to the east, and a structural task force was set up to protect the Oregon Tiger  Sanctuary and scattered homes in the fire’s path. In the end, the firelines held, the tigers were saved, and firefighters contained the fire July 31 at 1,510 acres.

Continued dry weather, wind and some lightning sparked numerous fires in Oregon and Washington in early August. The School Fire broke out Aug. 5 south of Pomeroy in southeastern Washington, and swept through wheat fields into rugged, forested country in the Umatilla National Forest. Many structures were reportedly lost—mostly remote cabins—as the fire’s rampage continued. A Type 1 incident command team was assigned to the fire along with more than 1,700 firefighters and support personnel. Large burnout operations over the next few days kept the fire from causing further damage. The fire was contained Aug. 18 at 49,515 acres. Two hundred and fifteen structures burned, and suppression costs topped $13 million.

At the same time, clusters of lightning-caused fires in northeastern Oregon were grouped into the Tryon Complex and the Granite Complex. The Tryon Complex was contained Aug. 21 at 42,736 acres, and the Granite Complex was deemed a wildland fire use incident; by early September, it had burned nearly 37,000 acres. Most of the country burned by these fires was located inside the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

Another cluster of lightning-caused fires in southwestern Oregon turned into the Blossom Complex, which burned in the Wild and Scenic Area around the Rogue River, a difficult-to-access area on the Siskiyou National Forest. Unified command of a Type 1 incident management team (IMT) and an Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) team coordinated indirect fireline and burnout operations that ultimately contained the complex Aug. 23. The complex spread to more than 15,000 acres and rang up more than $26 million in suppression costs.

On the afternoon of Aug. 25, the Deer Creek Fire raced across dry, grassy fields in southwest Oregon’s Illinois River Valley east of Selma, jumped Deer Creek Road, nicked a vineyard, burned five homes and 10 other structures and buried itself in timberland. The fire’s towering column of smoke was eerily similar to those seen day after day in 2002, when the gargantuan Biscuit Fire held siege over the valley for weeks on end. Thankfully, the Deer Creek Fire’s first run was also its last, as it was contained Aug. 30 at 1,548 acres. At its peak, nearly 1,500 firefighters were assigned to the fire; its suppression bill totaled $4.4 million.

California
Soothsayers predicted the fire season would arrive late in Northern California and that an above-normal fire season would be unlikely; however, the northern half of California was wetter than normal during the winter and spring of 2005, receiving 100–170 percent of its average rainfall.

Southern California received 150–400 percent of its average rainfall, most of which fell in the deserts. The result of all this lower-elevation moisture: fine fuel, and lots of it. It was also predicted that low-elevation fires would be frequent and larger than normal. Conversely, high-elevation fires would be fewer in number and smaller in size. The predictions hit pretty close to the bull’s-eye.

In late June, a few sizeable grass and brush fires hit Mojave National Park that later combined with the Hackberry Complex, which burned nearly 71,000 acres and 11 structures before firefighters contained it June 27.

Photo AP/Reed Saxon A tanker aircraft prepares to make a fire retardant drop on flames on a ridge as an 1,800-acre wildfire raced through Morongo Valley, Calif., June 22.

In August, the Manton Fire burned more than 30 structures some 30 miles northeast of Red Bluff. When contained on Aug. 29, the blaze had burned a total of 1,830 acres and had provided firefighters some high-level excitement with its spectacular runs through grass and timber. A second fire in the region, the Barrel Fire, burned nearly 25,000 acres of brush and timber north of Fort Bidwell. Firefighters contained it on Aug 29 as well; however, access to much of the fire’s perimeter was poor, and it took several days of indirect line construction and burnout operations to successfully contain it.

In early September, the Volcan Fire broke out in Julian, a town previously scorched by and evacuated because of the 2003 Cedar Fire. Although the Volcan Fire was much smaller than the Cedar—a scant 685 acres—its impact was considerable. More than 40 structures fell before firefighters contained the Volcan Sept. 12.

With the beginning of autumn came Southern California’s fierce Santa Ana winds. During the last week of September and the first week of October, 30–50 mph winds pummeled the Los Angeles basin, while humidity ranged from 5 to 15 percent. On the afternoon of Sept. 28, the Topanga Fire broke out north of Chatsworth. Its flames quickly jumped a freeway, blackened 3,500 acres and threatened dozens of homes. At the height of the fire, more than 2,000 firefighters worked the incident, bringing the blaze under control Oct. 4 at 24,000 acres. In all, the Topanga Fire destroyed 13 structures and cost $14.4 million to contain.

Several other fires also burned in the region. One of the largest, the Woodhouse Fire, burned 6,442 acres in northern Riverside County before firefighters contained it Oct. 7.
Near the end of October, some 3,600 fires burned more than 140,000 acres in Southern California; 2,900 fires burned 60,600 acres in Northern California; and Oregon and Washington combined tallied 2,750 fires that burned 250,400 acres.

Hawaii
A series of fires caused a stir in Hawaii, the westernmost state. The Lalamilo Fire broke out Aug. 1 on the Big Island and burned nearly 14,300 acres, prompting the evacuation of some 650 residents in Waikoloa Village. Approximately 10–30-mph winds pushed the blaze, which started in farmland, toward homes and condominiums. After flames jumped three firebreaks, officials ordered evacuations, and Governor Linda Lingle requested federal disaster assistance. Burning conditions were severe because the Big Island had received half of its normal rainfall for the year. No homes were lost in the fire, but flames came within yards of several residences.

During the Lalamilo, officials closed several roads firefighters used as fireline. Dozers plowed additional firelines in the fields while four helicopters with buckets doused flame fronts with water. Part of the area scorched by the fire included an old artillery range used during World War II, so firefighters did not deploy in some areas because of concern for unexploded bombs. At the same time, firefighters controlled a 1,100-acre brushfire near Kawaihae Harbor.

Later in the month, two other fires struck the Big Island. The Nanakuli Fire burned 2,850 acres of grass and forest some 16 miles west of Honolulu. At one point, the fire threatened the town of Palehua and a power plant, causing the closure of a major highway. Meanwhile, the Weikele Fire burned 450 acres and one structure. Both fires were contained by Aug. 21.

Brian Ballou frequently teaches wildland/urban interface residents about ways to keep their houses from burning down. In his day job, he’s a wildland/urban interface specialist and a public information representative for the Oregon Department of Forestry.