JOHN DAY George Ponte, the Oregon Department of Forestrys Central Oregon District forester, declared the start of wildfire season last Friday, June 14 nearly two weeks earlier than usual.

Ponte stopped in John Day to talk to industry officials at the 2013 Association of Oregon Loggers/ODF Operators Breakfast, last Friday.

Ponte noted the irony of the showery weather that had swept into the region overnight.

I guess I made it rain by declaring fire season yesterday, he quipped.

However, he stressed that a little rain wouldnt change the import of bulletins issued by the National Interagency Fire Centers Predictive Services office. Those alerts predict continued drier-than-usual and hotter-than-usual weather through September locally, and across the Western states.

The drying trends amplify the threat of large fires, and once again, lightning will be the key, the office reported.

Ponte, who said lightning accounts for about half the fires in this region, said the district dodged a bullet last year. The 2012 season began with crisp-dry conditions in June, followed by more dry weather and repeated forecasts for severe thunderstorms well into the summer. Those storms largely melted away or skirted the area, however.

We got lucky, he said. We hope we get lucky again, but hope is not a strategy.

Instead, ODF hopes to ramp up fire awareness among industry operators and recreationists who use the woods.

Ponte last week urged contractors to take extra precautions and avoid adding preventable, human-caused fires to the already serious threat from lightning.

The early fire season declaration was prompted by drying conditions and an uptick in small fires, said Ponte.

From the first of the year to May, the district has had only about 30 percent of normal precipitation, he said. We considered declaring fire season in early May, but we experienced some cool, wet weather during May which bought us some time. The current and forecasted weather is more summerlike, so fuels are drying quickly and fire risk is increasing.

Tom Fields, ODF fire prevention coordinator, also told the John Day group that the conditions now are just not characteristic of what wed see for this time of year.

He urged operators to keep check out all their equipment for safety issues, and to revisit the rules for carrying hand tools and fire extinguishers in vehicles, and water at work areas.

Go over and above with firewatch during and after operations, he urged.

He said they also should monitor the weather conditions closely and call it a day when the humidity drops below 30 percent or sooner, if wind or other factors warrant a shutdown.

Fire season triggers restrictions on recreational and work activities in the forest, and industrial operators are required to have firefighting equipment on site. Since restrictions vary across the state, forest users should check with the nearest ODF office for rules specific to their local area.

Wildfire safety restrictions can change quickly during the season and vary from one jurisdiction to another.

Recreationists planning to visit national forests, U.S. Bureau of Land Management or other federal lands are advised to check with those offices for information on current restrictions.

The Malheur National Forest is already into fire season, with both lightning and human-caused fires reported as early as May. Forest officials last week boosted the fire danger rating to moderate. With the change, officials hope to increase public awareness of dryer-than-normal conditions on the forest.

Both zones of the forest remain at Industrial Fire Precaution Level I, which requires fire watch or security for all industrial operations.

I think most folks are well aware that much of eastern Oregon is experiencing drought conditions, Ponte said. The professionals that forecast fire conditions anticipate higher than normal potential for large, destructive wildfires not only in Oregon but in much of the west. The number of fires we get is largely a factor of how much lightning there is during fire season.

But any fire that starts, whether caused by lightning or human activities, will have potential of becoming a large and destructive one.