Yakima - Smokey Wine Country
Washington state’s wildfires are starting to influence the agricultural resources the state provides. The grapes that grow in central and eastern Washington are among those that can be changed dramatically due to the smoke produced by the Summer fires.
In the Yakima Valley, wineries have their hands full being positioned in an area that produces the most naturally occurring fires in the state. Recent years have shown the type of effect that can have on grape production. Phillip Kline, the owner of Naches Valley Vineyard, said the smoke effects the grapes more than the fire itself.
“When the smoke is concentrated it will actually block out sunlight. It’s not that the smoke or the fire changes the flavor, it actually slows down the growing process of the fruit,” Kline said.
In 2017 Washington experienced an extreme spike in number of wildfires, this did not go unnoticed in the vineyard community. For some it meant that less grapes grown in the Yakima Valley.
“We had to have more grapes shipped in from our other vineyards in Oregon in 2017 because of the lack of growing the fires created,” Kline said.
Not all smoke is bad when it comes to making wine however, at Owen Roe winery and vineyard they were lucky enough to strike gold when a fire burned too close to a patch of grapes. Brandon Burns, Owen Roe Wine Manager, shared the story of the creation of Ex Umbris.
“The owner was wondering what to do with the smoky grapes and thought that no one would want to drink wine made with them. The wine that came out of the grapes became one of our best-selling wines we make,” Burns said.
Trying to recreate the same levels of smoky flavor the original grapes had is a difficult process as well said Burns. Owen Roe doesn’t attempt to do any controlled burning to yield the same effect, instead they turn to barreling techniques to achieve the wine they desire.
Despite the fires, the Yakima Valley is also one of the most ideal places to grow grapes
“Geographically, the soil is rich with nutrients because of previous volcanic eruptions and it is great for grapes as well as blueberries, apples and hops,” Kline said.
Beer Hops in the Yakima Valley
The Yakima Valley in Wash,. produces over 75 percent of the nation’s hops and a quarter of the world’s hops. The valley has an extremely unusual geography that allows for quality tasting hops, which creates the signature beer taste.
The Yakima Valley sits right below the Cascade Mountains. During the winter, there is a snowpack in the mountains, but when springtime starts to come around, all of the runoff goes into the Yakima Valley. This proves well for the hop growers because they have plenty of water in the soil for them to grow.
A major wildfire season in 2017 created an environment with an extreme amount of smoke. Smoke can impact the taste of growing plants. During this same year, many wine growers saw an affect in the taste of their wine.
However, the smoke that the wildfires produced did not cause the breweries to report a change in taste of their beer. according to Ann George, the executive director of the Hops Growers of America, said.
In fact, instead of the smoke causing harmful effects to the crop, it actually protected it.
The heavy smoke cover in the year 2017 created a greenhouse-like effect to the environment. The sun could not penetrate through the cover and it also kept water from being released, increasing the humidity.
“The smoke cover seemed to lessen the heat stress and evapotranspiration from the plants” George said.
This means that the sun could not negatively impact the plants and the high humidity did them a favor.
In 2015, the Yakima Valley had an extremely hot and dry summer. This led the hops growers to worry about being able to water their hops and the sun could potentially cause a lot of heat stress.
However, in 2017, with the high amounts of humidity, the growers did not need to worry about the water supply or the heat exposure of their hops plants.
Yakima's Secret
The weather is so hot in the summer that vehicles driving by spark brush fires, a terrain that resembles that of the Middle East that earned it the moniker "Yakistan" and a base that spans roughly 511 square miles. The Yakima Training center is a sight that many people outside of the Yakima area don’t know exists.
History
The Yakima Firing Center opened back in 1942, the center provided a variety of training exercises to prepare troops. It opened due to the United States recognizing a need for a large maneuver area in the Pacific Northwest and purchased the land.
At first it was used for range firing and small unit tests but evolved into the primary spot for training exercises and activities. During the Vietnam War the center was almost exclusively used for U.S. Army Reserve and the National Guard. Major exercises named HILLTOP, APPLEJACK and COOLY CREST were also performed.
The single largest exercise conducted at the base was in 1976, when 6,000 active, reserve, and National Guard teamed up on the base for the joint training exercise called BRAVE SHIELD.
Starting in 1988 a lot of changes were made. The construction of the Multi-Purpose Range complex was completed and opened in 1989. In 1990 it was renamed to the Yakima Training Center, which is still its name to this day.
The YTC also does work with other countries as well. The exercise RISING THUNDER is a joint exercise that involved Japanese and U.S. soldiers this is done to forge and increase the relationship between the Japanese soldiers and the Yakima valley.
Geography
The geography of the YTC also plays a huge factor in how it’s unique and why it was chosen as a strategic location.
Commander Roger Gavriluk said it provides an area that is close in case of an attack from North Korea and the Korean Peninsula. It also can deploy to anywhere in the world and counter any potential threat.
Gavriluk said that rough terrain of the area provides for trainings that replicate actual scenarios they’d see out in action. The elevation varies from 400 to 4100 feet. The rugged terrain provides opportunities but also challenges during the exercises. The huge amount of open space allows for more freedom while plotting exercises and trainings as well.
The land is negotiated with the Yakima Nation tribe and meetings are held often to continue those negotiations.
“I’m the one who goes down and meets with them. Every time I meet with them, that’s their expectation, they want it back. But due to the strategic location of the installation it probably won’t happen anytime soon,” Gavriluk said.
The winters are cold while in the summer the hot temperatures sometimes shut down trainings. Training activities on YTC cause an average of 350 fire starts annually which is the highest of any military installation. The fires burn an average of 13,000 acres annually and cost over $1 million annually to suppress.
Prime season for fires start in May and ends early September. The soldiers receive a fire card everyday to let them know the conditions, when the chance for a fire is at its highest and to make sure to shut trainings down in time.
The YTC also employs a unique strategy to help combat the fires. Soldiers are armed with a fire suppression apparatus, called a slip-on. A slip-on is a container that has water in it with a pump connected it so soldiers can help put out fires. Gavriluk said if the fires get too out of hand then range control is contacted.
The Soldiers and the Community
The Yakima Training center has 3100 housing facilities and nine dining facilities spread around the base. Gavriluk has been stationed here for almost two years and has fallen in love with the base and the city of Yakima.
“It’s really like a small community here,” Gavriluk said. “Most guys would spend their time and stay on base, but we make in effort to go out and develop those connections and relationships with the surrounding people. We impede on their lives with the trainings and loud noises so it’s only right.”
Gavriluk mentioned the surrounding communities have no problems with the base and everyone gets along well. There are even civilian full-time employees that work on the base as well.
Gavriluk said there are many events the soldiers partake in to help build and foster the relationships with the tribes and the community. These range from museum visits to cultural exchanges.
While thousands of soldiers come through every year from different countries and range from the Army to the Coast Guard this year is shaping up to be the busiest in the center’s history.
“This is going to be the busiest year in the Yakima Training center’s history in reference to how many soldiers are going to be training here,” Gavriluk said.
The high number of soldiers is due to the all the trainings taking place. Those range from a joint warfighter exercise, where new equipment is tested, to tactical exercises. Gavriluk said the YTC is a good place for soldiers to learn and make mistakes before they either move onto the next base or even deploy. Other trainings include small firearms and cannons, to dropping missiles in the impact area.
The Yakima Training Center is expected to continue to grow while also positively impacting the economy in the Yakima area.
“Not a lot of people know about us here, but we do a lot, not just for the soldiers and the military but also for the community as well,” Gavriluk said.
ABOUT US
Hsing-Han Chen, Jared Leingang, Lauren Palmer, John Hunt, Joshua Yi, Ana Giles
From left to right
This project was made as a final story for murrow news service at Washington State University. We decided to focus our attention to the various effects of wildfire, honing in on the yakima area of washington state.
Credits:
Created with an image by RitaE - "hops umbel climber plant"