Commissioners mull wildfire recovery

The nearly 160,000 acres that have burned in the Double Creek Fire near Imnaha have included many miles of fence lines ranchers use to contain their cattle.

Nash mentioned some of the problems and possible solutions.

“There’s a canal off Big Sheep Creek that needs work,” he said. “It’s compromised with trees that fell in during the fire.”

He said damage on public and private lands along on Upper and Lower Imnaha roads is being assessed.

“It’s really subjective right now,” Nash said. “I talked to one of the landowners and he said there’s places it burned through grass and maybe got only a few rock jacks and the rest of the fence is fine. I know the Forest Service has some funding available for that, but I’m wondering if it might be worth our time to get the drone people over here to give an assessment. Given the topography of that ground, trying to do a physical assessment of what was damaged and what’s irreparable — we need to have some good intel for them to know where to fly."

As a rancher, he has a fair idea of the cost to rebuild the fences that burned.

“It’s going to be substantial, the cost of reconstructing fence on decent ground being about $20,000 a mile. You start to pitch up or downhill, it’s going to go up from there,” he said. “We want to make sure we capture what’s available for the Forest Service. I’ve been in conversations with FSA (Farm Service Agency) and they’re looking into what they might have, as well."

Nash, who is president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, said that later that afternoon he was heading to Prineville for an association meeting. Then he was to headed to John Day for another meeting, where he was scheduled to testify on Senate Bill 762, passed in the 2021 legislative session, which will provide more than $220 million to help Oregon modernize and improve wildfire preparedness through three key strategies: creating fire-adapted communities, developing safe and effective response, and increasing the resiliency of Oregon's landscapes.

The commissioners also:

• Approved a request for a conditional use permit by a couple who wants to establish a bed and breakfast.

• Rehired as a temporary employee Caprice Locke to help train the new grants administrator.

• Approved a resolution granting the county the authority to borrow money for the Wallowa County Fair.

• Approved a resolution to appoint members to county Transportation Advisory Committee.

• Changed an order to a resolution to designate the Wallowa County Chieftain as the newspaper of record for the county.