The entrance to Ecola Creek Forest Reserve in Cannon Beach.

CANNON BEACH — The arrow on a fire danger sign in Ecola Creek Forest Reserve rests dead center on a green wedge labeled “low.” But a debate is simmering about how best to protect the forested acres that shelter the city’s primary water source as the threat of catastrophic wildfires in Oregon seems to grow each year.

City emergency management staff and the rural fire protection district are pushing for improvements to roads in the reserve. Right now, they say, the roads are in need of repair and options are limited if they have to respond to a fire. However, in a draft update of the reserve’s management plan, the city’s Parks and Community Services Committee recommends minimal to no road enhancement. They, along with some city councilors, worry that improved access will only invite more people to the reserve and increase the risk of someone sparking an accidental fire.

They point to data collected from the Oregon Department of Forestry that shows fires on the coast have tended to be accidental and human-caused, often associated with logging-related activities like burning slash piles but also campfires and smoking.

They also examined data from the National Park Service for the agency’s Fort Clatsop unit that concluded the risk of wildfire on the North Coast was generally low given annual rainfall, cooler temperatures and humidity levels.

But Rick Hudson, the emergency manager for Cannon Beach, points to power lines that cut through the reserve — a potential fire hazard — and the fact that people already wander on roads and trails.

He respects the parks committee’s work and agrees that “people are responsible for being irresponsible.”

To him, that means plans and infrastructure like roads are even more necessary, especially as the climate shifts and the state continues to see fires like the ones that burned across Oregon last year.

“It’s impossible to keep human beings out of that environment,” he told The Astorian. “It’s already open.”

Damp places

Though the coast has burned before — the infamous Tillamook Burn fires of 1933, which destroyed more than 300,000 acres of timber in what is now the Tillamook State Forest, are the oftcited examples — wildfire is not something many residents worry about from year to year. North Coast forests are notoriously damp places and some spots on hiking trails will stay muddy almost year-round.

But last year, 1.1 million acres burned across Oregon, fueled by warm and dry conditions associated with climate change and unusually strong winds. In August and September, much of the West was burning.

On the North Coast, evidence of the massive fires raging elsewhere arrived in the form of thick smoke that blotted out the sun and caused temperatures to drop. Timber managers shut down recreational access to forestlands then watched and waited over the Labor Day weekend, wondering if the winds would drive fire toward the Coast Range.

Two fires that burned near Arch Cape in 2018 generated the same kinds of concerns Cannon Beach leaders face now. Those fires had a human root, sparked by timber slash fires, and were fanned by east winds. The fires — how fast they moved, how fiercely they burned — unnerved many in emergency response roles.

And last year’s fires carry a warning for the North Coast. Farther south, in Lincoln County, the Echo Mountain fire affected some 2,500 acres, a tiny amount compared to what was burning elsewhere.

Still, it’s a fire that stands out, and one other coastal communities should consider as they think about wildfire risk and the steps they can take to mitigate that risk, saidAaron Groth, an Astoria-based regional fire specialist with Oregon State University’s forestry and natural resources extension fire program.

New to the job, he plans to begin reaching out to both small and large timber owners and managers to better understand some of the gaps that exist on the coast when it comes to fire protection.

“I think that (the Echo Mountain fire) is something that should be on people’s minds,” he said. “It’s something that had great impact on Lincoln County.”

The Ecola Creek Forest Reserve is bounded on three sides by commercial timberland owned by GreenWood Resources. A network of roads maintained by the timber company provides access across this land to the reserve. GreenWood requires any recreational users on its timberland to register for a free pass to get beyond entrance gates. Access to the city lands is not monitored in this way.

The rest of the reserve faces U.S. Highway 101 and the city.

Mark Morgans, of GreenWood Resources, is in the early stages of discussing a possible memorandum of understanding between the timber company and the city. The agreement could formalize things the two entities already collaborate on, such as closing down public access to the forest during wildfire scares.

Morgans noted that Cannon Beach has already planned extensively for other natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and hopes they will plan for wildfires, too.

“As a neighbor, I do want to encourage them so that our forest doesn’t burn up if they haven’t developed a response to theirs,” he said.

‘Secret forest’

Fire danger and a wildfire strategy were not emphasized in the original management plan for the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve. Now, this potential danger has been included in the recent update, though city staff wish to go one step further and open up the possibility of future access improvements.

The purchase of the land, a process that spanned years and involved complicated acquisitions and land swaps, did not have unanimous support in the community. A bond to help the city acquire the 800-acre state-owned tract that now forms the bulk of the reserve passed by a mere 12 votes in 2009.

The reserve has since become an important part of the community — it’s a “secret forest,” City Councilor Nancy McCarthy said. In it grow cedar trees estimated at 500 years and older, and the creek and streams provide key habitat for salmon. Importantly for residents, the reserve also helps shelter the city’s primary source of drinking water.

Given the public involvement and support in creating the reserve and the need to protect both the forest and municipal water supply while also giving people a place to wander, the city must maintain a tricky balance.

Hudson plans to conduct more meetings with parks committee members and other stakeholders and fire experts. The management plan and the question of road improvements were to come in front of the City Council again in March.

Ultimately, the City Council will decide on how protection of the reserve will be addressed.

But it will be hard to serve both sides, City Manager Bruce St. Denis cautioned city councilors in early February. In fact, he said, “I don’t see a way to resolve it by meeting in the middle.”

He said it comes down to different ideas of protection: Is it limited access to the public or is it the ability to bring emergency vehicles into the reserve?

McCarthy and others don’t want to see new major roads built in the reserve. City Councilor Robin Risley, a former parks committee member who has been involved with planning around the reserve, continues to have concerns about what improved access might mean for the city’s other goals tied to the reserve’s protection.

But, McCarthy said, “I do think we need fire protection up there and we need access to it.”

Wildfire has been on her mind more and more since she moved to a house that is close to both the reserve and the fire station. She hears the clang of the engine sirens and she sits in her backyard and sees the forest rise up in front of her. Sometimes, in the summer, she sits and wonders, “When’s the fire coming?”