Free Republic

Wildfire News/Oregon Cool weather is two-edged sword on Florence and Sour Biscuit Fires By JEFF BARNARD, The Associated Press, 8/6/02 3:17 AM CAVE JUNCTION, Ore. (AP) -- Cool and humid weather that has kept a lid on the Florence and Sour Biscuit fires prevented crews from fire-hardening the southern end of the 40-mile containment line protecting the Illinois Valley. "It's a two-edged sword," said Mike Lohrey, incident commander on the eastern front of the fires that have burned a combined 275,000 acres of the Siskiyou National Forest in southwestern Oregon said Monday. A few drops of rain fell on the...

Fire Fight Hampered by Cooler Weather 08/05/2002 By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer Firefighters trying to get a line around the massive Florence Fire hoped for rain Monday, but said they were nevertheless making good progress on corralling the blaze with a 200-mile containment line starting at the California border. The 240,000-acre fire, located in the Siskiyou National Forest in southwestern Oregon, increased Sunday by more than 40,000 acres from burnouts alone, said Tom Valluzzi, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. Burnouts are fires that are intentionally set behind dirt containment lines by crews hoping to rob the main blaze of...

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...