ODOT works with McKenzie River Trust to use burned logs for good

Blackened timber from the September Holiday Farm Fire in Lane County is getting new life in habitat restoration projects. To some, it’s the ultimate in recycling: Take blackened timber from fire-ravaged land and put it right back into the damaged environment.

Recovery for the human habitat has only just begun, and recovery for the burned forests won’t be realized for generations. But the conservationists at McKenzie River Trust vowed to find some good from Oregon’s unprecedented wildfires.

Making wildfire information quick, easy to access

The ODOT GIS team was ready when they received the call that incident managers needed a way to map critical information from last September’s wildfires. Using data from a variety of sources, the team created a rich story map that supports all kinds of efforts from a variety of groups involved in the fires’ aftermath: it guides field crews, populates progress reports and puts critical information into the hands of those most affected – the homeowners.