Fires burning on more than 438,000 acres across Oregon

Oregon Live/AP ^ | 8/3/02 1:59 AM | AP Staff

[Grampa Dave]

Fires burning on more than 438,000 acres across Oregon

The Associated Press

Major wildfires have burned and are burning on more than 438,000 acres in Oregon on Friday. About 12,000 firefighters are working in the state. The Northwest Interagency Communication Center is tracking at least nine major fires in Oregon. Top priorities for fire officials were the 150,000-acre Florence fire, the 17,000-acre Timbered Rock fire, the 38,000-acre Sour Biscuit Fire, and the 26,850-acre Tiller Complex.

LUCKY FIRE

Started: 7/29/02, 10 p.m. six miles south of Detroit.

Size:87 acres

Containment: 70 percent

Evacuations: None.

Damages: None yet. In heavy timber.

On scene: 168 firefighters.

Cause: Lightning

CACHE MOUNTAIN:

Started: 7/24/02, 15 miles northwest of Sisters, Oregon

Size: 4,200 acres.

Containment: 95 percent.

Evacuations: None at this time.

Damage: Two homes destroyed.

On scene: about 1,179 firefighters.

Cause: Lightning.

TOOLBOX FIRE

Started: in Lake County 07/12/02

Size: 86,794 acres

Containment: 75 percent

Evacuations: None at this time.

Damage: None reported.

On scene: 1,768

Cause: Lightning.

MALHEUR-FLAGTAIL COMPLEX

Started: 8-25 miles from Prairie City, 07/12/02.

Size: 86,794 acres.

Containment: 75 percent.

Evacuations: No evacuation as of August 1.

Damage: None.

On scene: 1,768 firefighters

Cause: Lightning

TILLER COMPLEX

Started: Outside Tiller, east of Canyonville off Interstate 5, 07/12/02.

Size: 26,850 acres.

Containment: 25 percent

Evacuations: South Umpqua Road closed at milepost 6. Fifteen residence threatened. Tribal ceremonial grounds and critical cultural resources are threatened.

Damage: No listed damage.

On scene: 1,051 firefighters

Cause: Lightning.

MONUMENT FIRE

Started: 9 miles southwest of Unity, 07/12/02

Size: 24,378 acres

Containment: 75 percent.

Evacuations: None at this time.

Damage:None.

On Scene: 1,154 firefighters.

Cause: Lightning.

FLORENCE FIRE

Started: 26 miles west of Grant Pass, 07/13/02.

Size: 150,000 acres.

Containment: 5 percent.

Evacuations: The entire Illinois Valley on notice to evacuate.

Damage: 3 residences and 8 outbuildings.

On scene: 1,546 firefighters.

Cause: Lightning.

SOUR BISCUIT FIRE

Started: 17 miles southwest of Cave Junction

Size: 33,287 acres.

Containment: 0 percent containment

Evacuations: None yet.

Damage: no

On scene: 436.

Cause: lightning

TIMBERED ROCK FIRE

Started: Unknown. 20 miles north of Medford.

Size: 16,925 acres

Containment: 20 percent

Evacuations: Elk Creek Road is closed except to fire vehicles. Evacuation area for all addresses along Elk Creek Road, 143 homes, is still in effect. No homes were immediately threatened by yesterday's fire activity and no homes have been lost. August 1.

Damage: None

On Scene: 1,163 firefighters

Cause: lightning

----

Source: The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center

[AuntB]

Thanks for the photo's you two. I've wanted to drive over to the fires, but knew I'd get into it with some USFS flunky. So, I'm staying home, where I belong. Don't want you all to have to bail my scrawny butt out of jail.

[Grampa Dave]

The enviral whackos used that inversion to start a rural cleansing campaign against those who used wood burning stoves and fireplaces for heat in Oregon in the fall, winter and spring.

That plus the recent ban on removing dead or dying trees in the national forest cut off the heating source for many families. Many families where the bread winner lost his income due to the Spotted Owl lies and rural cleansing.

[Grampa Dave]

If you bust the chops on one these pink pantry wearing florist maggots pretending to be a real forester, we would take up a collection to get you out of jail. Of course I would have be able to post the pictures of what he/she/it looked like after Aunt B cleaned its clock.

[Grampa Dave]

You are right!

The highly educated federalis at NOAA have made Oregon into Washington on this map. :)

Thanks! I need more coffee, or I will have to go to work for NOAA. I missed that little detail as I'm flying from place to place on the internet this morning.

[SW6906]

BTTT one more time.....

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

B - How is the timbered rock fire doing from your persprective? They've sent home some Klamath assets, but the updates show the fire growing and the containment pct. stagnant.

[AAABEST]

If you did not read Aunt B's thread about the most incredible interview ever heard on radio (that dealt with the Pink Panty Wearing Florist Maggots in the US Forestry Service ....

OK, I'll go read it, as soon as I'm done LMFAO!!!!!

[Grampa Dave]

Glad I can send a little humor back east as you get ready to mud wrestle the maggot version in your area. Just don't destroy a lot of Saw Grass, and remember alligators will eat these scum balls if given the opportunity.

There is one precaution about dealing with some of the clipped haired Pink Panty Wearing Florist Maggots in the US Forestry Service .....

Often they carry Glocks and give me the impression that they would love to shoot a kind and warm hearted conservative grampa without much provocation.

[Grampa Dave]

I think that the same tree hugging enviral games are being played out with this Timbered Rock Fire.

It is in a very remote and special enviral al Qaeda Tree Hugging area, if I'm not mistaken.

So they are doing the same with this fire as they did with the so called Florence/Sour Biscuit fire. Letting it burn until they are forced to go at it with all the tools.

Of course most of the tools are in the SW corner of Oregon.

[AuntB]

I heard on the local news this morning that it was only 10% contained. Of course according to the helicopter people, the USFS won't let them dip water near the fire!!

[wanderin]

This is the Post Office in Selma OR.( picture taken 8/3/02) where some concerned folks had a rally and waited to have a chat with former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt on Jan. 14, 2001.

He, unfortunately, was chicken and changed his itinerary at the last moment avoiding all those nice folks that showed up to talk him.

[wanderin]

Correction, the picture in post #46 was taken on 8/2/02

[Grampa Dave]

Can you imagine only in your worse dreams if the aero support to fight forest fires had been moved from Medford?

The rest of you to understand about Aunt B's comments about the Floristry Service Maggots in the Forest Service re the helicopters fighting the fires, need to go to this link: ("I'M ASHAMED OF THIS" Interview with a 'copter Wildfire Fighter. The Lars Larson Show | 8/02/02 | AuntB )

[Grampa Dave]

From today's Brookings, Oregon Pilot:

THIRTY MILES OF FIRE!

Published: July 31, 2002

By Brian Bullock

Pilot Staff Writer

Thousands of Southern Oregon residents Tuesday remained ready to evacuate their homes because of a pair of large wilderness fires.

And it doesn't appear relief from the flames will come anytime soon.

More than 17,000 residents of the Illinois Valley endured nearly two weeks of thick smoke and frayed nerves before being told by fire officials Sunday to be prepared to leave their homes.

The lightning-sparked Sour Biscuit Fire, the southern most part of what was once a five-fire complex, was still burning uncontrolled west of Highway 199 and north of the Oregon state line on Tuesday.

It had burned an estimated 26,000 acres, officials said.

The Florence Fire, the northern end of the complex, had burned more than 71,000 acres by Tuesday and was only 5 percent contained.

It was threatening the small Curry County communities of Oak Flat and Agness.

The southeastern edge of the Florence Fire burned through a collection of homes also known as Oak Flat in Josephine County on Thursday.

Less than a day after fire officials posted an evacuation alert for residents of the Illinois Valley, Curry County officials Monday met with forestry representatives to discuss similar alerts and begin preparation of evacuation plans for central Curry County.

At noon Monday, forest service representatives Mary Stansell and Stan Hodney, Curry County commissioners Rachelle Schaaf and Marlyn Schafer, county Emergency Services Coordinator Michael Murphy, and county Sheriff Kent Owens met with residents of Agness and Oak Flat, trying to prepare them for the worst.

"Our venture here today is to try to keep your houses safe so we can look back on this and laugh," Hodney told about 80 residents of the Oak Flat and Agness area.

Hodney works for Coos Forest Protection Association.

After watching the northern edge of the Florence Fire burn over Silver Peak and Burnt Ridge Sunday night, Oak Flat area residents gathered in a small log cabin meeting room in the U.S. Forest Service station in Agness. There Stansell, Hodney and Liza Castleberry, fire management officer of the Pacific Zone, told residents to secure their homes, round up and transport animals, and pack their bags in case they had to be evacuated.

"That's why now, when you don't have a high level of stress, it would be a good time to make plans," Murphy said.

Stansell read ominous forest service projections for the two major fires to the gathering.

The Florence Fire, which doubled in size on Sunday, slowed a bit Monday. It was expected to merge with the Sour Biscuit Fire by mid-day Tuesday.

At about the same time, it was expected to march north and reach Buzzard's Roost on the Illinois River Trail. And by early Wednesday morning, it was expected to threaten about two dozen homes near the Oak Flat campground.

By Tuesday afternoon, Stansell said those projections would be altered by the end of the day.

"The projection was if the fire weather continued the way it did on Sunday, that's what would happen. We got a break in the weather Monday," she said.

Castleberry said a team of four crews (80 people) and two bulldozers would be staging at Quosatna Campground west of Agness.

She said they would be concentrating on structure protection.

Much like residents of the Illinois Valley, Agness residents were concerned about the safety of their homes and what crews were doing to protect them.

Most of the homes in the Agness and Oak Flat areas are in rangeland or mountainous terrain where there is a lot of fuel to feed the fire, officials said.

Murphy said firefighting resources were stretched thin because of the number of fires, 14 at last count, burning throughout the state.

He said because of the rapid growth of the Florence Biscuit complex and its move toward populated areas, it was being upgraded in priority by fire officials.

As of Tuesday, the Sheldon Ridge and White River fires near The Dalles and a fire at Cache Mountain near Bend that has forced the evacuation of 5,000 residents near Black Butte were the top two fires on the priority list. The Florence Biscuit complex is third, Murphy said.

He also said the southern end of the Florence Fire has a higher priority than the northern end because of the higher population of the Illinois Valley. Residents of Selma, Cave Junction and O'Brien were put on evacuation notice Sunday and remained on alert as of Tuesday.

An evacuation order was issued Saturday at 4:30 p.m. for residents along the Illinois River west of and including Deer Creek Ranch. Fire officials also strongly recommended voluntary relocation of the elderly, families with children and people with pre-existing medical conditions in the Illinois Valley late Monday.

When possible, the forest service issues 48-hour, 24-hour and 30-minute evacuation notices. All residents west of Highway 199 from Fort Hay to Finch Road were told to be prepared to leave on 30 minutes notice. All other residents had received a 24-hour notice by Monday evening.

Despite forest service projections that indicated the Florence Fire would be in the Oak Flat vicinity by Wednesday morning, fire officials stressed that Monday's meeting was not a 48-hour notice. However, they strongly urged residents to prepare their homes as much as possible for the advancing blaze.

"There are some things you can do around your house to protect it from the fire. It might be a good day to start," Hodney said.

They were told to clear brush and trees as much as possible. Move wood piles away from all structures. And clean rain gutters and wet roofs and decks.

Some residents asked about using chainsaws and bulldozers to clear brush and trees.

Stansell pleaded with them not to use such equipment because sparks could cause more fires.

One Oak Flat resident said if there is one thing that brings residents surrounding Agness together it's fire. There was also several mentions of Harry Truman, the Spirit Lake resident who died after he refused to leave his home on the side of Mount St. Helens before it blew.

"We can not force you out of your home," Hodney said. "But to be quite cold, we ask you for your next of kin."

Some residents expressed an interest in staying in the face of evacuation notices.

"If we can't get crews in front of this fire, one person with a garden hose isn't going to stop it," Castleberry said.

Firefighters caught a break Monday when both fires slowed their progress.

"Things really grew on Friday, Saturday and Sunday," said Tom Valluzzi, fire information officer with the Arizona Central West Zone Management Team. Since Sunday, it really hasn't grown that much.

"It's slowed down but the weather is the same as it has been the last three days. It's basically hot, dry and windy," he said.

Valluzzi said winds were expected to shift from the northwest to the north, which would slow progress toward Agness, but would send it toward Cave Junction.

The fires remained two to three miles apart as of Tuesday afternoon, but Valluzzi said that would change soon.

"They're going to join naturally in the next couple of days. If not, we will join them," he said. "That makes them much easier to fight."

Valluzzi said there were more than 1,000 people fighting the fires.

Twenty-five crews, 38 engines, 10 water tenders (tanker trucks), 26 bulldozers and six helicopters of various size are all committed to the effort.

There are four air tankers also committed to the effort, but because of a low inversion holding smoke down in the valleys, those airplanes have been flying to other fires, Stansell said.

Murphy, who along with Owens is working on an evacuation plan for the Oak Flat/Agness area, said with the high number of fires burning in the state, fighting any fire is difficult.

"We're scrambling to try to find some resources. They've already stripped a lot of resources out of here. We've got so many fires in Oregon going and they're all doing damage," he said

[Grampa Dave]

In my reply above re the article in Brookings, Oregon, Pilot, here is a really interesting comment by Mary Stansell, Curry County commissioner, when asked by residents about them using chainsaws and their own bull dozers to clear brush and timber around their homes to save them.

MS Stansell, like all good Enviralists had this response:

Stansell pleaded with them not to use such equipment because sparks could cause more fires.

What a first Class Enviral Tree Hugging Clymer she is! She is only worried about the sacred trees and brush than the people in her county!

These people know how to use chain saws and bull dozers. I haven't heard of a single fire caused by a chainsaw or bull dozer in this rash of fires.

If you live in these areas, use every damn chainsaw that you, your family and friends can get your hands on. If you own a bull dozer, clear out some real fire lanes around your home. Kill as many trees that is necessary to save your homes, barns and other structures.

[Grampa Dave]

Folks, I'm out of here for awhile and maybe until Monday.

I will definitely not be on the key boards on Sunday. We are going to the Ocean before the envirals set it on fire or keep us from going.

Could someone else start the thread tomorrow re the status of these fires? It doesn't have to be elaborate. Just c&p an article from Oregon Live or one of the tv stations to kick it off. Then the other great Freepers will join in.

Stay safe those of you in Oregon.

[Granof8]

Mary Stansell is NOT a Curry County Commissioners, she is employed by the Florist Circus.

Read this from today's Curry Coastal Pilot:
Curry Coastal Pilot, August 3, 2002
By Jennifer Henion, Triplicate Staff Writer

U.S. Forest Service officials in Oregon will investigate whether bad advice or unavoidable bureaucracy is to blame for the spread of the Sour Biscuit Fire into Del Norte, County.
"They may say in hindsight that we made the wrong decision, but they may say that because of weather conditions and other factors it couldn't have been done any other way," said spokesperson for the Siskiyou National Forest and U.S. Forest Service Mary Marrs.
In question is whether a leading California Department of Forestry firefighter could have put out the blaze when it first sparked July13, and whether he was told not to fight it by the Oregon office with jurisdiction over the other area.
According to Del Norte County Supervisor Chuck Blackburn, a high ranking firefighter with a crew and equipment was ready to douse the fire the day it started.
Blackburn said when that firefighter called the Siskiyou National Forest office for permission to attack the flames, he was told no. As a result, the fire grew out of control and eventually crossed into California.
"It's frustrating to the firefighters and it's frustrating to the people wondering if their houses are going to burn," Blackburn said.
Marrs said she had not heard of the incident until yesterday, and was unsure of the facts.
She said many factors are involved in organizing a fire strike and than no one would get authorization to begin the battle without all the bases covered.
"We wouldn't assign anyone to a fire unless we know there is a back-up unit, some kind of an escape route, there has to be a communication link and we would want to know what the weather conditions are," Marrs said.
Weather and smoke conditions are especially important, she said.
"One of our biggest obstacles is visibility. With all of the air crashes we've had this year, we're taking extra precautions," Marrs said.
She also pointed out that the U.S. Forest Service is a para-military organization and all the levels of bureaucracy within it often bog down the efficiency of fighting the fires.
In response to questions about two recent incidents where firefighters were ready to go to keep the fire from spreading but were denied, Marrs said that sort of thing happsnes sometimes in a huge coordinating effort such as this.
"That person may have felt miffed at missing the change to go, but when you're told no, you can't question it. We have 1,000 firefighters out there and it puts people at risk and communities at risk," Marra said.
Officials at the Medford headquarters, at the Cave Junction and Crescent City incident command centers, will be informed of the problem and the(sic) brought together for better understanding at Marrs' urging.
She also promised better communications between Forest Service staff and the communities at risk.

---

Sorry for any typos, couldn't find this online yet.

[Granof8]

Watch out for the cascadia subduction zone earthquake and the resulting tsunami while you're at the ocean shore. Any good enviro-freak aka tree hugger will tell you it's going to happen at any time.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

ping...

[glock rocks]

click on the thumbnail to see the big pic

	Firefighters from an Ontario, Ore., crew clear up a burnout in the Florence Fire near Selma, Ore., Saturday, Aug. 3, 2002. The Florence Fire has burned about 188,000 acres and remains the top priority for firefighting resources in the state. (AP Photo/Don Ryan) - Aug 03 5:46 PM ET
	Firefighter Jose Martinez, from Ontario, Ore., works on a burning stump as crews mop up a burnout area of the Florence Fire near Selma, Ore., Saturday, Aug. 3, 2002.(AP Photo/Don Ryan) - Aug 03 5:27 PM ET
	U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, right, is briefed by Fire Behavior Analyst, Erik Christiansen, about the status of the Florence wildfire, at the fire camp at Lake Semac in Selma, Ore., Saturday Aug. 3, 2002. Christiansen, who is part of the Pacific Northwest #2 Incident Management Team, outlined the history and containment strategy of the fire to Wyden, who is visiting the area. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens) - Aug 03 5:04 PM ET