May 13, 2020 3:25 a.m.
A number of private timberland owners will close access to their land on Monday May 18th.
A joint release from Lone Rock Resources, Seneca Sawmill, Giustina Land and Timber Company, Giustina Resources, and Campbell Global Forest and Natural Resource Investments, said due to drought conditions and above-average temperatures, agencies are predicting a bad fire season in Oregon. The release said the state has already experienced three times as many fires as normal for this year. The Oregon Department of Forestry’s SW Oregon District already started their fire season on May 1st, which was the earliest start since 1968. It is anticipated that other fire districts will declare the official start of their respective fire seasons early as well.
The release said while millions of acres of public lands in Oregon have been closed for recreation, the public’s use of private lands has dramatically increased.
The land owners said whereas public lands often have the infrastructure to help keep people safe like trails for people to hike on, or fire rings in campgrounds to contain campfires, private timberlands do not have the infrastructure to handle the surge in public visits safely.
The release said since about 70 percent of Oregon’s wildfires are started by people, the spike in public visits to private land has the potential to be dangerous for both the public visitors and as well as the timberlands.
To compound the issue, wildland firefighting will be less efficient with social distancing and other COVID-19 restrictions.
All five companies have timberland in Douglas and surrounding counties.