Dylan Johnson, Weyerhaeuser forester and firefighter crew leader, said he has one fear heading into Oregon’s 2024 summer and fall wildfire season.
“The ice storm that we had this past winter has created a lot of heavy concentrated fuel loading across the landscape, so there is a a lot of new fresh dead and down materials,” he said. “That increases the danger of spreading hot and intense fires and it will be difficult to get to the fires for suppression.”
Johnson also worries about the rugged terrain inland at Cottage Grove and along the Oregon Coast range.
“Yes, it is steep and deep,” he said. “That definitely doesn’t help with the fire behavior. The terrain plays a factor in fire growth. It starts at the bottom of the slope and is forced up as the heat rises. It can run up the slope pretty quick.”
Joining local, state, and federal forestry officials, Johnson is urging property owners to prepare now for the wildfire season ahead.
“The biggest message that rural land owners need to know is to make sure that you have a defensible space around your home,” he said. “The Oregon Department of Forestry and most fire districts can come to your property and access your property and make suggestions of how you can increase your defensible space, so that way it is less of a fire risk.”
According to the reports, wildfires burned across 190,507 acres in Oregon in 2023. A comparably low fire season. Fire officials said the Flat Fire in Curry County and the Bedrock Fire in Lane County burned more than 65,000 combined acres in 2023. Those fires were controlled after easterly winds eased and firefighters deployed rapid suppression efforts.
Mental health impact
According to Johnson, battling wildfires is physically exhausting and can adversely impact a firefighter’s mental health.
“It is exhausting both physically and mentally,” he said. “It’s work in the summer time, so there is the heat of the season. You are working constantly. Long days. Just a few days off here and there. It is definitely a challenge.”
So how does Johnson and the other firefighters deal with such a challenge?
“Take rest and relaxation when you have the opportunity,” he said. “Your rely on your crew mates. They are like your family. You spend five six months of the year with these folks developing really good relationships. Everybody is going through the same thing. So you can talk with the people that are going through the same thing that you are. It is just your support system. So, staying positive is the biggest thing. Do your job safety, effectively and efficiently.”
Currently, as a Weyerhaeuser forester, Johnson is helping reforest the fire-damaged Holiday Farms property.
“We lost about a third of our tree from from that wildfire,” he said. “We are basically having to start over and plant new trees.”
According to Weyerhaeuser officials, a "monumental effort" is underway to replant 21 million seedlings following the Holiday Farm and Bedrock Fires.
Weyerhaeuser partnership
For the third year, Weyerhaeuser has partnered with Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance to help provide specialized support and mental health resources for wildland firefighters.
Addressing mental health challenges without stigma is critical to keeping firefighters safe, and the Fighting Fires Together campaign is designed to provide an important platform to amplify education and resources available for wildland firefighters and their families in the Pacific Northwest.
“After launching the Fighting Fires Together campaign with FBHA three years ago, we’re proud to continue this effort to support wildland firefighters and their mental health as they work in challenging conditions to protect our communities,” Weyerhaeuser Western Timberlands Vice President Bill Frings said. “Weyerhaeuser’s approach to wildfire preparedness, prevention and mitigation is a year-round strategy, and part of this includes ensuring wildland firefighters have access to the resources they need to carry out this work.”
Weyerhaeuser’s annual campaign provides online resources in partnership with the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance designed to support wildland firefighters and their families, including videos on mental health topics, educational articles and contacts for wildland firefighter-specific support groups and experienced counselors.
The mission of Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance is to collaborate, develop and implement behavioral health awareness, prevention, intervention, and post crisis strategies to provide firefighters with an easily accessible and confidential source of information.
Weyerhaeuser operates a plant at 77676 Highway 99 in Cottage Grove.
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