Red Flags Fly in the Coast Range
Fall arrived, but summer didn’t get the memo.
That’s what Oregon Department of Forestry prevention coordinator Tom Fields says. A combination of dry, hot weather and exceptionally dry vegetation has created an environment that wildfire will thrive in. Red Flag Warnings are flying in many areas of Western Oregon today because of high temperatures, low humidity and the possibility of gusty winds, especially near ridge tops in the Coast Range.
The National Weather Service calls it “critical fire weather conditions”. Fields says it calls for continued caution when working or recreating in the outdoors. Crews continue to discover and extinguish illegal camp fires in several remote areas. In one case, he added, a fire crew found an escaped campfire left by a hunter two miles away from any road.
Campfires continued to be prohibited outside of designated campgrounds; backyard burning remains off limits as well. Fields says anyone responsible for an illegal fire that gets away from them could be held liable for the costs of extinguishing it.
Gas Prices
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline spiked seven cents this week in Florence, back up to $3.94. That’s a higher increase than around the state. As measured by Triple-A the Oregon average price increased by three cents and stands at an even four-dollars-a-gallon. The national average price dropped by a similar amount, it’s at $3.78. Marie Dodds with Triple-A says tight supplies in the west and northeast portions of the country have sent prices in those areas back up, while average prices at the pump continue to subside in other areas.
The Mightiest Wind
On the afternoon of October 12th, 1962 the remnants of Typhoon Freda picked up new energy in the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon Coast and stormed from south to north, causing damage and destruction. 46 deaths were attributed to the storm and the amount of damage in today’s dollars would likely exceed $1.4-billion. Kerry Tymchuk is the director of the Oregon Historical Society. They’ve put together a new exhibit set to open next week looking back at what many call the “mightiest wind”.
Kerry Tymchuk – “Few communities had notice because, you know, the weather prediction system back then was so antiquated compared to today.”
But, says Tymchuk, the Portland area did have some advance warning because of KGW TV meteorologist, Jack Capell.
Kerry Tymchuk – “Jack was in the weather station and he noticed that the weather reporting stations in Oregon were going out sequentially from south to north. First there were no reports from Brookings; then the one from Coos Bay went out; then the one from Florence; so he correctly deduced that something was happening.”
The highest officially recorded wind gust was 145 miles an hour along the coast with estimated winds topping 175 miles an hour.
Tymchuk will talk about the Mightiest wind this afternoon on the October 3rd edition of KCST’s Our Town. Also coming up will be a conversation with incumbent Fourth District Congressman Peter DeFazio; City officials working on the Siuslaw Estuary Partnership; a segment about the Boys and Girls Club Penny Wars fundraiser; the director of the upcoming Last Resort Players production of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and PeaceHealth Vice President Dr. Sherry Catlin talking about behavioral health and changes to the PeaceHealth Counseling Service. That program airs on KCST from 4 to 6.
