2017 Fall Creek Fire
Thursday, August 10, a dry lightning storm moved through our area.  At 4 pm there was a strike directly across the river from Frank and Jeanne Moore's house.  They actually saw the strike. They live 5 miles east of us, upriver.  Because of its proximity to Fall Creek, that became the official name of this particular fire. That storm ended up starting a large number of fires across the Umpqua National Forest.  So many in fact, there were no resources available to put on the Fall Creek fire.  It was slow burning, creeping along on the ground, burning undergrowth and an occasional dead snag.  This is called a ground fire.  The best kind of fire to have, if you have to have a fire.  The really bad fires are crown fires.  The entire trees are aflame and the fire spreads from one tree to another by branch contact.  Firefighters have told us over the years there is nothing they can really do to protect our home from a crown fire. The fire was miles away so we weren't worried about us, but about Frank and Jeanne.  They were moved to a level 1 evacuation notice very quickly.  1 = ready, 2 = set, 3 = go (as in get out of your house right now!)  A day or two later they were moved up to level 2.  They actually evacuated (level 3) several years during the Williams Creek fire.  We were up there when the sheriff deputy delivered the Level 2 news. Frank said all they would take with them this time were some books and his fly rods.  No doubt about his priorities.
This is the view of the fire looking over Frank and Jeanne's roof, the day they were moved to Level 2. This is the fire Saturday night.  We took the photo from the Fall Creek Falls parking lot. This part of the fire is directly across the river from the road. Sunday morning we drove back up river to see what the fire damage looked like in daylight. This is the snag that was flaming so wildly Saturday night. Amazing how all the trees around it are still green. We drove farther upriver to Dry Creek, a fairly dense community of houses. The fire is much closer to them.  The firefighters and equipment are ready and waiting.
The smoke was terrible at Long Shadows.  Too bad to work outside, so we decided to take advantage of an inside day.  We picked all of the tomatoes that were ripe and made a batch of salsa.
We have had a different kind of eclipse.	Elevation rock as you drive upriver. Hard to see through the smoke.
Small flame is barely visible across the river.	Peeling skins off roasted tomatoes.
Nancy chops the ingredients.	First batch of the 2017 season.
A few days later, with no more ripe tomatoes from our garden, we went to town. and U-picked 35 pounds. Made 6 more quarts that evening.  The tomatoes above aren't ripe enough yet.
We have tried to stay on top of the fire news.  Friday, 9 days after the fire started, the latest reports indicated the fire was heading west.  As we returned sightseeing upriver, a truck from the sheriff's search and rescue unit was puling out of our driveway. The gentleman informed us we are now officially a level 1 evacuation status.  Oh @#*%!  We have lived here for 21 years and this was a first.  We have done the theoretical planning for this day.  We have two action plans:  what to do if we have hours to prepare to leave, another if we have  minutes.  That morning we had re-evaluated our lists.  But the theoretical was only theoretically comforting. So we did what we do best. We got to work!  There's nothing like a nearby forest fire to provide motivation to do limbing and fighting back the forest, which is always trying to take over the landscaping.  We started cutting low hanging limbs from trees near the house, widening the walking area behind the house, blowing fir duff off the driveway, cutting down shrubbery that could carry a fire up into a tree.  We wanted to do anything and everything to help keep this a ground fire, not a crown fire.
First load of hazel branches.	Driveway is blown clean as a whistle for 70' out. Really needed Ashleigh.  She learned how to do this at Steamboat.
Cleared duff from close to the house. Cocodrie is inspecting the job.	Piles of branches waiting to be hauled away. Cocodrie is the acting supervisor.
Nancy cutting back grape, salal, ferns, anything green that is anywhere close to the sidewalk.	After Nancy finished.
It was a hard day.  Chainsaws are illegal to use now, so it was handsaws, pruners, and rakes.  Everything we cut had to be hauled away from the house.  Most of it was WAY too big for the trailer.  After about 6+ hours we called it a day.  Want to know who was the tiredest?  Yes, you guessed it.  The supervisor who never did any work.
She was plum tuckered out. All that walking from person to person checking their progress. It was a mighty tough job.
Eclipse day. Very interesting sun through all the smoke!  Mid-day we got a visit from three firefighters. They are with the national management team fighting this fire, and they were here to survey what they might need to defend. After a thorough walk-through around the house and barn, they said we are in good shape. They made a few suggestions of more work we can do, but essentially said our house is very defensible. They even like our meadow -- it could become a safe spot for firefighters and equipment.  We liked hearing that! The next chapter in this saga has not happened yet.  There will be more to come.