Technically, the "Tillamook Burn" describes
the forest fire of 1933 which ravaged nearly 240,000 acres of prime forest
land, most of it in Tillamook County. This fire killed almost 12 billion
board feet of timber, enough lumber to build more than a million five-room
houses.
Subsequent forest fires in 1939 and 1945 have also been
included in the term "Tillamook Burn" although, combined, these fires consumed
only one-tenth the timber killed in the 1933 fire.
A fourth fire, in 1951, spread over some 32,000 acres,
but destroyed only 15 million board feet of logs and snags.
The following is a summary of each
of the fires in the area commonly referred to as the "Tillamook Burn":
1933 Fire:
Perimeter area of fire
261,222 acres
Unburned area within perimeter
21,527 acres
Burned area
239,695 acres
Timber killed
11,828,712,000 board feet
(a board foot measures 12" x 12" x 1")
1939 Fire:
Perimeter area of fire
209,690 acres
Unburned area within perimeter
19,030 acres
Burned area
189,660 acres
Timber killed
834,220,000 board feet
Previously burned by other fires
15,527 acres
1945 Fire:
Perimeter area of fire
182,370 acres
Unburned area within perimeter
2,240 acres
Burned area
180,130 acres
Timber killed
439,385,000 board feet
Previously burned by other fires
10,899 acres
1951 Fire:
Perimeter and burned area
32,700 acres
The total area of the 1951 fire was burned by the 1933
and 1939 fires but forestry sources report that some 30 million board feet
of felled and bucked snags were burned with less than half destroyed.
Four Fires Combined:
Perimeter area of fire
360,882 acres
Unburned area within perimeter
5,946 acres
Burned area
354,936 acres
Timber killed
13,102,917,000 board feet
Footnote: 7.5 billion board feet
of burned logs were salvaged between 1934 and 1955 out of the 13.1 billion
board feet killed. Source of Data: Oregon Department of
Forestry
|
