Forest Service needs to better plan, inform public of burns

This editorial appears in the Nov. 5, 2009, Yakima Herald-Republic.

Where there's smoke, there should be fire.

It took a few weeks, but the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency made the right decision by turning up the heat and putting the U.S. Forest Service on notice: Be better prepared the next time a controlled burn takes place in Central Washington.

The agency issued a violation notice to the Forest Service for a 2,000-acre controlled burn in late September in the Bethel Ridge area west of Yakima. The burn sent a blanket of smoke into the Yakima Valley that lasted for five hours and triggered what the agency considered a violation of the state's clean air law.

At least 17 residents in Tieton, Selah and Yakima complained to the agency about the smoke and its potential health effects on people suffering from asthma and other breathing-related problems.

It's the first time the clean air agency has ever cited the Forest Service for a violation. Though no fines are involved, the Forest Service is required to submit a response within 10 days that details how it will prevent future situations, or face potential fines up to $12,000 a day.

Though Forest Service officials had no immediate comment about the citation, we trust the federal agency will assume its responsibility to those living here and prepare better contingency plans for the future.

September's controlled burns were designed to reduce the risk of dangerous wildfires by limiting the amount of combustible materials like downed tree limbs and bushes.

The objective makes sense, but the way it was handled did not. The Forest Service argues the winds changed unexpectedly in the afternoon of Sept. 28, causing the thick smoke to move into the populated Yakima Valley. What the Forest Service will need to do is learn from this incident and create a new weather model that takes into account what the prevailing conditions were on that day. What nobody wants is a repeat performance.

Also, the Forest Service needs to improve how it notifies the public. Providing information on upcoming controlled burns to the news media is a starting point, but creating a continually updated Web site about those burns is another step that should be taken.

In the case of public health, having too much information is never a bad idea. Having too little is asking for trouble.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.