A bit of forestry history

I read with interest the letter from Nora Sherwood on March 31 (“A reasonable plan for forest management”) about the Tillamook State Forest. She is urging state forestry to honor federal laws on protecting fish and wildlife, which they have to do. She is also urging Oregonians to “stand up to timber interests” and so called short-term gains from timber sales.

A little history lesson is needed here. When the Tillamook area started burning in the 1930s, the first massive fire occurred when a fire sparked by a logging operation merged with two arson fires set at the same time. Several other fires burned the same areas over, and also took in unburned areas. These later fires were referred to as the “six-year jinx,” as they sere spaced six years apart.