HomeMy Public PortalAboutSITPA - Southern Idaho Timber Protective AssociationSITPA
receives
award
The Southern Idaho Timber
Protective Association has received
an award from the state for firefight-
ing efforts in 1992.
SITPA received the Excellence in
Fire Management Award from the
Idaho Department of Lands on Dec.
2 at an annual state - sponsored fire
meeting in Coeur d'Alene, said Bill
Williams, SITPA fire warden. The
award was presented by Stan
Hamilton, department of lands direc-
tor.
The award, a plaque bearing a
chrome pulaski, was given in
recognition of SITPA's initial fire
attack effectiveness, slash hazard
management and coordination and
cooperation with other firefighting
agencies, Williams said.
With a full - strength summer staff
of 26 members, SITPA battled 58
fires during last summer, Williams
said. The largest fire fought was the
65 -acre Crown Point Fire north of
Cascade, he said.
SITPA carries out wildland fire
suppression and slash hazard man-
agement over about one -half million
acres of state, private and some fed-
eral lands in Valley and Adams
counties, Williams said.
Photo courtesy SITPA
This photo from about 1937 shows dignitaries gathered around the
newly rebuilt fire lookout on No Business Mountain southwest of
McCall. The lookout is still operated by the Southern Idaho Timber
Protective Assn. and was rebuilt by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
protection agency
In 1919, the name of the associa-
tion was changed to the Southern
Idaho Timber Protective Association,
with the principal subscribers being
the state, the Boise Payette Lumber
Co., (formerly the Payette Lumber
and Manufacturing Company), and
the Barber Lumber Co., along with
the federal government.
After the Idaho State Forestry Law
was enacted in 1925, the number of
subscribers was greatly increased by
voluntary enrollment of private tim-
berland owners.
In 1929, the first year an annual
report was written, the association
had 54 members and protected a total
of 1.1 million acres of state and pri-
vate land in Ada, Adams, Boise,
Elmore, Gem, Idaho and Valley coun-
ties.
The protection area stretched south
to Fairfield, north to Pollock, and
west to the Snake River. Today, 65
years later, the association protects
404,851 acres in Adams, Idaho and
Valley counties. The association has
62 members with Boise Cascade Cor-
p. (formerly the Boise Payette Lumber
Co.), and the state being the two larg-
est landowners.
SITPA provides wildland fire pro-
tection for several hundred additional
timberland owners. Under contract
with the state, the association also
protects 121,185 acres of national
forest land in Valley and Adams coun-
ties.
Early Fire Detection
Good information is scare on what
year the association started building
fire lookouts, but a picture exists of
East Mountain Lookout taken in 1914.
The association eventually con-
structed and operated seven lookouts
on Brundage Mountain, East Moun-
tain, No Business Mountain, Packer
John Mountain, Peck Mountain,
Shafer Butte, and Sunset Mountain.
The lookout crew members in those
days were mostly men, but a 1929
photo exists of Mrs. William J. Moore,
known as "the Lady Lookout," oper-
ating the Shafer Butte Lookout.
Most of those lookouts were re-
mote from any road, and the lookout
person and all supplies had to be trans-
ported by pack train.
Several of the lookouts, including
Brundage Mountain, East Mountain,
No Business Mountain, and Packer
John Mountain, were rebuilt using
log construction during the 1930s by
Finnish craftsmen with assistance
from the Civilian Conservation Corps
program.
Today, only Brundage, East, and
No Business Lookouts are still in use,
and all three are now accessible by
primitive roads.
Timber
BY BILL E. WILLIAMS
For The Star -News 6 / 7 7
Southern Idaho Timber Protective
Association is celebrating 90 years of
protecting private forest lands in west
central Idaho.
During its existence, the associa-
tion has protected hundreds of
thousands of acres of timber while
maintaining a variety of historic look-
outs and buildings in the area.
SITPA originally started out in
1904 -1907 as a cooperative effort by
four private timber companies, Boise
Lumber Co., Barber Lumber Co., A.
W. Cook Timber Co. and Payette
Lumber and Manufacturing Co. These
private companies pooled their log-
gers and mill workers to provide fire
protection to their timberlands.
In 1908, cooperative forest protec-
tion was set up under a "gentlemen's
agreement" among the timber com-
panies, the state and the Boise and
Payette national forests. This coop-
eration was so satisfactory to all parties
that a more formal organization was
established.
In 1911, the organization was
called The Southern Idaho Co- opera-
tive Fire Protective Association and
consisted of the timber companies,
the state, and the Boise, Payette, Idaho
and Weiser national forests.
Early Fire Fighting
From 1914 to 1937, the associa-
tion battled 1,520 forest fires, or an
average of 63 fires per year, that
burned an average of 4,548 acres per
year. The highest numberof fires dur-
ing that period was 110 in 1917.
In 1931 the association had 68
fires, but it was a dry year and 56,345
acres burned.
"In 27 years as a firefighter, I never
saw anything like this 10 -acre blaze
that in nine days burned an entire
township (36 square miles)," wrote
H.C. Shellworth, then secretary -man-
ager for the association, in a SITPA
pamphlet about the 1931 fires.
In 1931 most firefighting was done
by men with shovels, axes, cross cut
saws and mule trains, as helicopters,
smokejumpers, air tankers, and fire.
engines were not yet available.
As a comparison, from 1989
through 1993, SITPA fought an aver-
age of 59 fires each year. Burned
acreage ranged from 5,386 acres in
1989 to 14 acres in 1993, for an aver-
age of 1,116 acres per year.
Costs have risen as well over the
years. In 1929 the association spent
$969.20 to suppress 54 forest fires. In
1992 the Crown Point Fire, which
burned 60 acres, cost over $100,000
to put out.
X.
Private Association Protects Forests
The picturesque lineup of log buildings at the part of the roadside scene for many years.
SITPA headquarters at Smiths Ferry has been a
A man who drives a pickup
truck out in the forest and makes
a career of putting out forest fires
is a Forest Ranger. Right?
Not necessarily, but Bob Kirk
of McCall, Idaho, has about
decided that there is no point in
confusing the public with details.
As Chief Fire Warden of the
Southern Idaho Timber
Protective Association, Bob is
responsible for fire protection on
some 280,000 paying acres of
State and private forestland on-
the watersheds of the Payette,
Little Salmon and Weiser Rivers.
As the lands the Association
protects are often adjacent to, or
even intermingled with, National
Forest lands, the blurred identity
is understandable. Because the
Association and the National
Forests work very closely
together on a basis of mutual
respect and appreciation, the
occasional confusion over who is
the real Smokey Bear is more a
subject of amusement than
operating methods have changed
remarkably over the years.
In size the Association now
protects about 280,000 acres, in
contrast to the 1,100,000 acres
covered in 1929. Much of the
decrease in acreage is due to the
Federal and State agencies
assuming responsibility for
protecting more private land
adjacent to Federal land.
In addition to his Fire Chief's
hat, Kirk wears a Forest War-
den's hat. The State of Idaho
contracts with the Association to
do slash work. In this capacity he
is responsible for hazard
reduction work — principally
slash disposal — on State and
private land. The State, in effect,
hires the Association to perform
hazard reduction on State land.
Private landowners pay a slash
disposal fee to the State which
goes to the Association to pay for
hazard reduction. This work is
financed be fees paid by the
timberland owner or operator as
installations at McCall and
Smiths Ferry, the Association
has look -out buildings at Brun-
dage Mountain, East Mountain,
No Business Mountain, and
Packer John.
The Association has five
permanent employees and an
additional 15 to 17 people during
the fire season. Six tanker trucks,
a road grader, two crawler
tractors, miscellaneous trucks
and pickups, and an effective
radio communication network
provide the mobility necessary to
get the job done.
The southern Idaho unit is one
of two private Associations (the
other one is in North Idaho)
helping to protect Idaho's forests.
They were the pioneers
nationally in cooperative forest
protection, and the concept is
apparently as valid today as it
was seventy years ago. .
truck out in the forest and makes
a career of putting out forest fires
is a Forest Ranger. Right?
Not necessarily, but Bob Kirk
of McCall, Idaho, has about
decided that there is no point in
confusing the public with details.
As Chief Fire Warden of the
Southern Idaho Timber
Protective Association, Bob is
responsible for fire protection on
some 280,000 paying acres of
State and private forestland on-
the watersheds of the Payette,
Little Salmon and Weiser Rivers.
As the lands the Association
protects are often adjacent to, or
even intermingled with, National
Forest lands, the blurred identity
is understandable. Because the
Association and the National
Forests work very closely
together on a basis of mutual
respect and appreciation, the
occasional confusion over who is
the real Smokey Bear is more a
subject of amusement than
concern.
Historically the Association
and the two adjacent National
Forests are almost con-
temporaries and their original
objectives similar.
Forest protection was, and still
is, the nearly exclusive preoc-
cupation of the Association.
Although the National Forests
have always had much broader
responsibilities, review of the
available records indicates that
forest protection — or more
properly, watershed protection —
taxed the meager resources of
the fledgling Forests for many
years, allowing few opportunities
for other activities.
The Association recognized
early that there is more to forest
protection than putting out fires.
The 1922 Annual Report mentions
several forest insects and
diseases (including the Tussock
moth) that were damaging the
forest and, in some cases, credits
timely cutting with preventing
more serious damage.
Somewhat surprising is the
early preoccupation with public
information and education.
Annual Reports from the 1920s
and 1930s deal extensively with
the importance of providing
forest visitors with background
information. One of the ad-
vantages of better roads is that
more people will get out in the
forest and see what is going on,
according to these reports.
Discussing the objective,
"Keep Idaho Green," the
following timely statement is
made in the 1929 Annual Report:
"The hazard is heavy. Ill con-
sidered (though not ill -
intentioned) acts or attitudes
may result in arousing harmful
or unfair prejudices — prejudices
more deadly to forestry than the
grassland fires, or the desert
bred lightning storms that run
into the forest from avid
sagebrush lands."
Although the basic objective of
the Association is unchanged,
remarKawy over Lne years.
In size the Association n
protects about 280,000 acres,
contrast to the 1,100,000 ac
covered in 1929. Much of t
decrease in acreage is due to the
Federal and State agencies
assuming responsibility for
protecting more private land
adjacent to Federal land.
In addition to his Fire Chief's
hat, Kirk wears a Forest War-
den's hat. The State of Idaho
contracts with the Association to
do slash work. In this capacity he
is responsible for hazard
reduction work — principally
slash disposal — on State and
private land. The State, in effect,
hires the Association to perform
hazard reduction on State land.
Private landowners pay a slash
disposal fee to the State which
goes to the Association to pay for
hazard reduction. This work is
financed be fees paid by the
timberland owner or operator as
the timber is cut. This money
(currently $3.00 per thousand
board feet of timber cut) nor-
mally finances all hazard
abatement activities.
In some instances the lan-
downer may contract with the
Forest Warden to have additional
work done on a cost basis. With
all costs climbing steadily it is
becoming increasingly difficult
to do an adequate slash disposal
job at the $3.00M rate.
The two functions — fire
control, which includes road
maintenance and maintenance of
facilities, and hazard reduction
— are performed by the same
crew, using some jointly owned
equipment.
The efficiency of this system is
indicated by the fact that only
about 10 acres have been burned
over on the average annually
during the past five years.
This burned -over acreage
contrasts with an average of 4500
acres burned annually from 1914
to 1937. The fire occurrence is
fairly constant, averaging 63 per
year from 1917 to 1937. In 1972, 69
fires were reported. Apparently
better access, better methods
and better equipment have
enabled the Association to almost
eliminate large fires.
Despite the encouraging
statistics, the Association's fire
control job is becoming more
difficult every year. Although the
public is generally very fire
conscious, the simple fact is that
there are many more people out
in the forest and this inevitably
increases the probability of man -
caused fires occurring.
Proliferating recreational
developments in forested areas
mean more flammable material,
more people, and greatly in-
creased fire risks.
Considering the size and
complexity of its assignments,
the physical resources of the
Association are not too im-
pressive.
In addition to the headquarters
i
ow has look -out buildings at Brun -
in dage Mountain, East Mountain,
res No Business Mountain, and
he Packer John.
The Association has five
permanent employees and an
additional 15 to 17 people during
the fire season. Six tanker trucks,
a road grader, two crawler
tractors, miscellaneous trucks
and pickups, and an effective
radio communication network
provide the mobility necessary to
get the job done.
The southern Idaho unit is one
of two private Associations (the
other one is in North Idaho)
helping to protect Idaho's forests.
They were the pioneers
nationally in cooperative forest
protection, and the concept is
apparently as valid today as it
was seventy years ago. .
Martin J. Heikkila ._
Services for Martin J. Heikkila, 86,.
of Baker City, Ore. formerly of the
Nampa - Caldwell
area, who passed
away Sunday,
Nov. 23, 1997, in
a Baker City hos-
pital of natural .
causes will be
conducted at
2:30 p.m. Friday,
Nov. 28, 1997 at
the Heikkila Fu-
neral Chapel, Mc-
Call, with Pastor
Karen Slotta of the Baker United
Methodist Church officiating. Burial
will follow in the Finnish Cemetery.
Martin was born May 9, 1911 at the
Heikkila homestead on Farm To Mar-
ket Road near McCall, to Peter and
Liisa Heikkila, Finnish Pioneers of
Long Valley. He attended Wood Grove
and Elo Schools. He married Hilda
Kantola, June 29, 1939 in Emmett,
Idaho and together they raised three
children. He worked for the Southern
Idaho Timber Protective Association,
building the Fire Warden's home and
other SIPTA buildings in McCall and
Smiths Ferry. He builtthree of the Long
Valley Lookouts, all jobs he was ex-
tremely proud of.
Hilda and Martin moved from Mc-
Call to the Sweet- Montour area in
1954 and went to work for the Hoff
Lumber Company in Horseshoe
Bend. He was a self taught mechanic
and machinist and loved his work at
the mill. Hilda passed away in Novem-
ber of 1959 and he married Dorothy
Mabee Hackenberg in June of 1962.
Martin retired from Hoff Lumber Com-
pany as their head machinist in 1976.
During his retirement, he enjoyed
camping, fishing and working in his
shop. He moved to Baker City, early
this year, to be lovingly cared forby his
daughter, Bernice and her husband
Gib. Martin was always very proud of
his Finnish heritage.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy
Of Boise; his daughter and son -in -law,
Bernice and Gib Walker of Baker City,
Ore.; son and daughter -in -law, Mary
and Karen Heikkila, McCall; brother,
Ray Heikkila of Lovelock, Nev.; and
sister and brother -in -law, Edna and
Ed Maki of Horseshoe Bend, three
stepchildren; six grandchildren; four
stepgrandchildren; and 17 great -
grandchildren. He was preceded in
death by his parents; his wife, Hilda;
daughter, Irene; three brothers; a twin
sister; and a grandson, Barry.
Memorials may be made to the
Finnish Church, c/o Hazel Ruska,
1385 Elo Road, McCall, Idaho 83638.
SITPA chief warns of intense fire year
Dryness levels up, as
are reported fires so
far on private forests
BY TECLA MARKOSKY
The Star -News
In light of the recent blazes in
bordering states, the chief of the
Southern Idaho Timber Protec-
tive Association has little doubt
McCall will experience an intense
fire season this year.
"We're a month ahead in terms
of normal seasonal drying,"
SITPA Fire Warden Mark Woods
said. "Moisture is only 67 percent
of normal. This year is unusual.
We had nine fires in May The
usual is two to four."
To prepare for the expected
heavy fire season, SITPA has
staged equipment at both offices
in McCall and Cascade.
A total of 12 seasonal firefight-
ers have been through fire season
and divided between Cascade and
McCall.
Three lookouts have been posi-
tioned on Brundage, No Business
mountain and Tripod mountains.
Together, theyfunction as SITPAs
primary detection system in ad-
dition to the public.
In addition to patrolling local
areas for fire, SITPA distributes
and controls burn permits. SITPA
has suspended all burn permits
this week in preparation for the
increased volume of visitors in
the area. Normally, burn permits
can be obtained from the McCall
SITPA office free of charge.
"Burn permits are important
because when one of ourlookouts
see smoke, the first thing they do
is look at the permit list," Fire-
fighter Alan Wright said. "They
save a lot of time and money."
SITPA predates the Forest
Service and was originally cre-
ated by timber companies and
private land owners to protect
their property.
Today, SITPA is a state - agency
that protects over 400,000 acres in
the Long Valley area. SITPA only
protects wildland but often works
with local federal agencies.
"We call it cooperative forest
management," Woods said.
"We work to the same stan-
dards, perform the same jobs
and use the same tools," he said.
"The only difference is the color
of our trucks. Theirs are green,
ours are red."
Star -News Photo by Tecla Markosky
From left, Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association firefighters
Alan Wright, Jason Hoffman, Daniel Potter and Jacob Perry check
their equipment in preparation for a heavy wildfire season.
and Health The StarNews page 1 of 1
Fire restrictions lifted; SITPA still withholds permits
Restrictions on campfires in the area were lifted on Wednesday, but local residents still not be able to
obtain an open - burning permits.
The fire restrictions imposed on Aug. 1 were lifted due to cooler weather and lower wildfire dangers.
Lifting the restrictions means the public is free to build a campfire, use a charcoal barbecue or
sheepherder stove on public lands.
However, the Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association will still hold off on resuming the issuing
of burning permits, SITPA Chief Fire Warden Mark Woods said.
"With the high number of lightning strikes that occurred late last week and the warming and drying
weather, we are experiencing now the potential for holdover lightning fires remains high," Woods said.
Bum permits are required for all buming outside of city limits from May 10 through October 20.
hnp: / /www.mccallstamews .com/pages /info _page.php 9/12/2013
Star -News News Groups Page Page 1 of 1
Stump named new fire warden for
Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association
BY TOM GROTE
for The Star-News
A veteran of firefighting management has been named as the new fire warden of the Southern Idaho
Timber Protective Association.
Ken Stump takes over for former fire warden Mark Woods, who retired.
Stump, 60, has held fire and aviation management positions in California, Oregon,
Montana, Hawaii and Alaska. He was worked for the Idaho Department of lands, the
Alaska Division of Forestry, Office of Aircraft Services and the Forest Service.
Ken stump "I look forward to serving the employees, land owners and communities within the SITPA
fire protection district," Stump said. "I enjoy the relationships and teamwork associated with
meeting the wlldland fire protection challenges."
The association is a private, non -profit corporation founded in 1904 to provide fire protection for
owners of forests and range land.
The association protects more than 411,000 acres of forested land spread over parts of Valley,
Adams, Idaho and Boise counties.
Private land accounts for about 200,000 of the total. Potlatch Forest Holdings and the State of Idaho
are the association's two largest member landowners.
SITPA firefighters responded to 30 fires last year, which was below the five -year average of 36 fires.
Of that total, 20 fires were caused by lightning, six were from escaped campfires and two were from
open burning that got out of control.
The association has five permanent employees and hires between 18 and 20 temporary workers
during the fire season.
The association has its headquarters in McCall and dispatches firefighting equipment from state -
owned yards in McCall and Cascade. Equipment includes four fire engines, two water tenders, three
excavators, two bulldozers and three forklifts.
http: / /www.mccallstamews .com/pages /groups _page.php 4/21/2016
Star -News News Groups Page
FUTURE FIREFIGHTER - Nicholas Monnot, q, of
Boise, shows his delight in operating a fire hose on
Saturday with assistance from Andy Barsness of
the Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association.
The lesson in firefighting was part of the -rake It
Outside" event held at the Northwest Passage Pond
at Ponderosa State Park and sponsored by the
Payette Children's Forest.
Page 1 of 1
http: / /www.mccallstamews .com/pages /groups _page.php 7/14/2016