USFS posts eclipse signs to transcend language barriers
Scheduling an eclipse during the peak of fire season was bad foresight. But, it’s coming and so are people from all over the world. Now the Forest Service is working to push messages that can’t be lost in translation by using visuals instead of words.
“So when we talk about ‘pack it in, pack it out,’ there’s (a picture of) somebody hauling garbage,” Deschutes National Forest spokeswoman Kassidy Kern said Friday. “When we talk about ‘don’t park in tall grass,’ (the picture is) your vehicle and grass. If we don’t have the opportunity to interact with you or we don’t speak your language, hopefully you’ll see those and say ‘All right, I know what I need to know to be safe.'”
About 40 large signs with pictures, maps and phone numbers will be set in key spots. Fire prevention and safety will be the main focus.
“They’re going to be across Central Oregon,” Kassidy said, “from Post, Paulina area, Mitchell, through the campgrounds and pinch points on the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland, moving through Bend and out through Sisters and Camp Sherman.”
In addition to the signs, field personnel will carry cards that have a phone number people can call to get information and speak with someone in one of more than 50 different languages.
Public service announcements also will be broadcast in Spanish. The Forest Service hopes to deliver the message of fire prevention without language barriers getting in the way.
