Jeremy Goers, West Zone Fire Management Officer for the Mount Hood National Forest (MHNF), said he was told that Hwy. 26 might be the last unburned east-west corridor in the Cascade Mountain range.

“That blew my mind,” he said. “We can thank Portland General Electric (for
shutting off power in 2020). They saved it. It’s kind of terrifying to think
about.”

Goers and many others representing agencies and stakeholders in the Mount
Hood community will take part in a Wildfire Preparedness Fair from 11 a.m. to
4 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at Timberline Lodge. The fair will offer people the
chance to learn about preparing for wildfires and how to get the most
accurate information.

Goers noted that discussion about wildfires on the west side of Mount Hood
ramped up following the Camp Fire in 2018 that destroyed much of Paradise,
Calif. Last October, the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) Community Mitigation
Assistance Team (CMAT) visited the area to help build collaboration with the
various agencies, businesses and residents for wildfire preparation.

“It was great, the whole idea is you have to get buy-in from the majority of
the community,” Goers said, noting that Timberline, the Oregon Department
of Forestry, Skibowl and Hoodland Fire District were among the participants.
CMAT’s visit resulted in a report aimed at building the group, now called the
Mt. Hood Corridor Wildfire Partnership, and have discussion about wildland fire
risk throughout the year. Goers noted that in April, the group was able to test
a framework for evacuations in Government Camp presented by Clackamas
County Disaster Management.

“It’s been great so far just to continue to get people talking,” he said.
Clackamas Fire District is expected to bring a simulation table that features
the topography of an area and can simulate how a wildfire might act under
certain conditions, such as wind. Those conditions can be altered to see the
change in the fire’s behavior.

Brent Olson, Battalion Chief for CFD, noted the simulation table is a new
technology the district received recently and that it conglomerates many
different data inputs from various sources to display the simulation in a way
that’s easy for people to understand.

“It does more than just wildfire, it does flood response, plume modeling for
hazardous materials like chemical releases and evacuation modeling,” he said,
noting that the Timberline event will be the first one where it is utilized for
public outreach.

Information will also be available on a new technology being used on Mount
Hood, Pano Stations, utilizing enhanced visual equipment supported by
Artificial Intelligence (AI) to quickly identify fire activity. Sandy Fire District
Chief Phil Schneider noted that the technology, which has four towers in the
area, has notified him of fires even before he gets the call from 9-1-1
dispatch.
“I’m pretty impressed,” he said. “It’s been catching everything in our fire
district that’s a significant fire.”

Schneider noted he can access the visual feed, which includes a full 360
degrees for each tower, and that another one is expected to be installed at
Timberline Lodge.

“It’s a big deal, it’s pretty cool technology,” Schneider said, adding that the
towers offer a much needed eye over the Bull Run area, where lightning
strikes might start a small fire that could be undetected for days without the
technology.

Schneider, who has spent more than four decades with the Sandy Fire
District, noted that in recent years he’s seen fires burn quicker and hotter in
the region. He added the fair offers people a chance to become more
educated about the risk while also learning of ways to be responsible and take
care of their property, including grants available through Ant Farm.
He also noted that the simulation table will be able to show how mitigation
efforts on a specific property can make a difference in how wildfire spreads
and how properties can be saved.

“It’s pretty impactful for the community to see that,” Schneider said.
Goers added that it’s hard to tell what this summer’s wildfire season will look
like, but it’s imperative for the community to be prepared for this year and
beyond.

“We’re always going to get fires,” Goers said. “We get a lot of human-caused
fires; way more than we should.”

The Wildfire Preparedness Fair will also feature Smokey Bear, kids’ activities
and a reward for participants who visit all the agencies there. For more
information, visit https://sites.google.com/view/wildfire-partnership.