north coast Volume 19, No. 3
February 6, 2014
northcoastcitizen.com
Wildfires in January? What next? By Dave Fisher The Citizen
Unusually dry conditions, combined with relatively low humidity and east winds, often create the perfect storm for wildfires to sprout and burn out of control, but in January? What’s that all about? Such was the case just recently when firefighters throughout Western Oregon found themselves battling a handful of wildfires – five in the Cascades southeast of Salem, three outside Coos Bay, two more in southwestern Oregon near Ashland and two near Arch Cape between Cannon Beach and Manzanita. Dry winds fanned the flames of the two fires in the vicinity of Arch Cape, according to Forestry Department spokeswoman Ashley Lertora, one fire about five miles southeast of Cannon Beach that burned 273 acres on private timberland and the smaller fire that ended up burning 31 acres a couple of miles away.
At the height of the Falcon fire near Arch Cape, which burned 273 acres, above, there were times all firefighters could do was watch the blaze. In the summer of 2005, right, Nehalem Bay area firefighters were called into action to fight a couple of wildfires on the Nehalem spit, one of which threatened houses. Courtesy photos wind event with gusts up to 50 mile per hour. All it takes “Normally, we’re pretty is one little spark.” much into the rainy season this time of year,” Lertora told Both fires started Thursthe Citizen. “It was an east
day, Jan. 24 in the remains of slash burns from logging operations last fall. Extreme dry weather and high winds re-kindled the slash piles,
which were not completely out. Slash piles, which are ignited in the fall with the onset of the rainy season, are generally not a concern. Lertora, a forester who has worked out of the Astoria office of the Oregon Department of Forestry the past two decades, said she has seen instances where slash piles got out of control in November and December, but not in January. “They were on a much smaller scale, not even close (in size) to the 31 acre fire,” she said. The same goes for Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue District Chief Perry Sherbaugh, whose firefighting career spans 28 years. “I’ve never seen anything like this, never a wildfire of this size, not even in the summer… this was a good-sized fire,” said
See WILDFIRES, page 7
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Manzanita City Council looks ahead with goals in mind By Dave Fisher The Citizen
On the heels of a special goal-setting workshop held in January, the Manzanita City Council looks to adopt the 2014 goals it set for itself for at its February meeting. Among them: • Identify enhanced features for the new Garry Bullard visitors center and develop a strategy for financing them. • Identify and evaluate options for utilizing city-owned buildings, determine the long term location(s) of city ad-
See MANZANITA, page 7
Wheeler’s new city manager on board By Joe Wrabek For the Citizen
Damaged screening along the face of Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain is scheduled to be replaced this spring, leading to closures of U.S. 101. Courtesy photo.
ODOT to install new rock screen this spring on U.S. 101 at Neahkahnie Mountain Public meeting set Feb. 10 to provide schedule, traffic control plan A contractor working for the Oregon Department of Transportation will be
installing a new wire mesh rock screen in an area prone to rock slides along U.S. 101 at Neahkahnie Mountain two miles north of Manzanita. The project should make it safer for motorists after a previous screening failed along with the support anchors. Construction is scheduled
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to begin in the spring and should be completed by early June. The project is scheduled early in 2014 to avoid the peak tourist season. It is estimated that it will take 2 to 3 weeks to perform the hillside prep work and install the rock screen anchors. The
See ROCK SCREEN, page 7
Geoff Wullschlager is Wheeler’s new city manager. Hired by the Wheeler City Council at its Dec. 17 meeting, he started work full-time Feb. 3. He’s originally from Pasadena, Calif. “My aunt lived in Yoncalla, and we had friends of the family in North Bend,” Wullschlager said. “I knew I was going to end up in Oregon.” Wullschlager has a B.S. in environmental science from the University of Oregon (1999) and a master’s degree in public administration from Portland State University’s Hatfield School of Government (2013). “Life is funny,” Wullschlager said. “Sometimes it steers you in odd directions.” In graduate school, “I got very involved in advanced courses in bud-
Geoff Wullschlager is Wheeler’s new city manager. Photo by Joe See WHEELER, page 7 Wrabeck
Stumptown?
Tree stumps along Laneda Ave. beg the question, ‘What’s going on?’
By Dave Fisher The Citizen
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To those not privy to the Laneda Ave. project, which calls for the widening and resurfacing of Manzanita’s main street from Division St. to just short of Hwy 101 this spring, the tree stumps which appeared last along the north side of the street was, perhaps, an alarming sight. It’s actually all part of the plan. Tillamook County Public Works crews cleared the trees, which stood in the public right-of-way as a first step in the streetwidening project. Tillamook County owns the
See STUMPTOWN, page 7
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