As a public safety measure and to ensure that the State can meet its contractual timber sale obligations, certain roads in the Elliott State Forest will be closed to public vehicle access beginning today. Roads behind gated closures will remain open to foot traffic for public use of the forest, except in active timber harvest areas.
The 93,000-acre Elliott State Forest is located in the Coast Range east of Coos Bay and Reedsport.
Certain active timber harvest operations within the gated road system will be closed to public entry in order to ensure public safety during active timber harvest operations.
The Oregon Department of Forestry - the agency managing the forest on behalf of the State Land Board and Department of State Lands – is taking the action to ensure that timber sales can be completed in a safe and timely manner in accordance with timber sale contracts. Increased use by the public and illegal actions by some individuals, including blocking or trenching forest roads, hanging ropes over road systems, and public entry into timber sale areas during tree felling operations have created the need to take these steps.
The gated road segments cover about 18 percent of the forest’s road system.
A top priority for the Oregon Department of Forestry is safety for all forest users within the Elliott State Forest including reducing potential conflicts from vehicle traffic encountering heavy equipment, log trucks and other traffic associated with sale activities on narrow forest roads.
Gates on key roads will be closed and signs will indicate the areas closed to public vehicular traffic. These vehicle closures, which are in the vicinity of planned timber harvest activity, will remain in effect until further notice.
Vehicle access will be allowed only for authorized management activities including timber harvest crews, forest operators, fire suppression crews, forest managers, state wildlife biologists and law enforcement agencies. Vehicle access to roads behind gates is not permitted without prior authorization from ODF. Vehicle access closures apply to Off-Highway Vehicle usage as well as regular public road traffic.
The Elliott State Forest is a working, publicly-owned forest and provides revenues from timber harvests for Oregon’s 197 K-12 public school districts.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
New State Fire Marshal Sworn In
Mark Wallace was sworn in yesterday as Oregon State Fire Marshal in a small ceremony at the state capitol.
Oregon State Police Superintendent Chris Brown administered the oath of office making Wallace the 9th person appointed as Oregon's top fire official.
"Being Oregon's newest state fire marshal is a great honor for me," said Wallace. "I know I am taking charge of an agency with a great history and a great reputation among those in the Oregon fire service. My challenge is to continue this legacy and guide the agency to even greater heights. I look forward to serving the citizens of Oregon and members of the Oregon fire service."
Wallace was selected from a pool of qualified candidates to replace retired State Fire Marshal Randy Simpson.
Wallace is a 42 year fire service veteran and has worked in every functional position of the fire service. He spent his first 32 years of service in Colorado and the last 10 years in McKinney, Texas. He has been a fire chief since 1987, leading four fire departments prior to being selected as the Oregon State Fire Marshal.
Chief Wallace holds an Associate Degree in Fire Science Technology, a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program and has been designated as a Chief Fire Officer by the Commission on Public Safety Excellence. He is also a FEMA certified instructor of the Incident Command System and a former lead adjunct instructor at the National Fire Academy, teaching fire and arson investigation courses in both the resident and field programs.
The Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal employs a staff of 70, working in areas of community education, emergency planning and response, fire & life safety, inspection, investigation, fire code administration, juvenile firesetter intervention, licensing, permitting, and data gathering and analysis in furthering its mission to protect citizens, their property and the environment from fires and hazardous materials.
Oregon State Police Superintendent Chris Brown administered the oath of office making Wallace the 9th person appointed as Oregon's top fire official.
"Being Oregon's newest state fire marshal is a great honor for me," said Wallace. "I know I am taking charge of an agency with a great history and a great reputation among those in the Oregon fire service. My challenge is to continue this legacy and guide the agency to even greater heights. I look forward to serving the citizens of Oregon and members of the Oregon fire service."
Wallace was selected from a pool of qualified candidates to replace retired State Fire Marshal Randy Simpson.
Wallace is a 42 year fire service veteran and has worked in every functional position of the fire service. He spent his first 32 years of service in Colorado and the last 10 years in McKinney, Texas. He has been a fire chief since 1987, leading four fire departments prior to being selected as the Oregon State Fire Marshal.
Chief Wallace holds an Associate Degree in Fire Science Technology, a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program and has been designated as a Chief Fire Officer by the Commission on Public Safety Excellence. He is also a FEMA certified instructor of the Incident Command System and a former lead adjunct instructor at the National Fire Academy, teaching fire and arson investigation courses in both the resident and field programs.
The Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal employs a staff of 70, working in areas of community education, emergency planning and response, fire & life safety, inspection, investigation, fire code administration, juvenile firesetter intervention, licensing, permitting, and data gathering and analysis in furthering its mission to protect citizens, their property and the environment from fires and hazardous materials.
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