Oak Observations July 2024
ECOP Weather Stations Assist Fire Fighting Efforts
What do we do when fire arrives in our favorite oak habitats? We check on our community members, assess for safety, hold space for loss, and support our friends. If you have been affected by the wildfire, you can reach out to oaks@columbialandtrust.org and we can help connect you with resources.
While fire can cause hardship, disturbance and change are inevitable. Sometimes they present opportunities to deepen our learning. When fire changes our plans, we can find new ways to help, pivot to collect new data, and learn more about oaks’ unique relationship with fire—a relationship that has existed for time immemorial.
In collaboration with Oregon State University, NRCS, and Cal Poly Humboldt, ECOP partners were scheduled to conduct physiology measurements last week near Friend, Oregon. When the Larch Creek Fire started, the team was forced to postpone work due to the close proximity to the site. Luckily, one weather station our team had already installed was able to find new purpose gathering data for the Larch Creek fire response team!
ECOP monitoring partners reached out to fire officials when they realized the climate equipment was positioned close enough to lend a helping hand. Officials gratefully accepted and the weather station installed at the Compadre site (near Friend, OR) was used by fire officials to gather immediate weather data when they needed it most.
Normally, fire officials have to order weather stations and wait for them to be delivered and installed—causing a multiday delay on gathering data. Because ECOP’s station had been installed weeks earlier, it was able to deliver immediate results. While we were disappointed we couldn’t begin our physiology monitoring, we are glad the equipment was able to support emergency fire fighting efforts and our team is looking forward to getting back out in August!
Did you know that ECOP has a fire monitoring protocol and monitoring kits are available for checkout by partners and the public? If your oaky site experiences fire, ask ECOP about checking out monitoring equipment and deploying the fire monitoring protocol!