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Wildfire information number established By MYLES MURPHY Ashland Daily Tidings In response to concern about the lack of information available during the July Horn Gap fire in the Ashland watershed, the city has established a phone number for local wildfire information. The Horn Gap Fire occurred on U.S. Forest Service land. The responsibility for both managing the fire, and dispensing information to the public fell to the U.S. Forest Service. While the fire posed no danger to Ashland, people were understandably concerned because of the stream of smoke visible from town. Ashland Fire and Rescue was inundated with telephone calls from residents demanding to know what was going on with the fire. "The dispatch center was getting so many phone calls (for information) during the Horn Gap fire it was hampering their ability to dispatch to emergencies," Ashland Fire & Rescue Chief Keith Woodley said. The Horn Gap fire broke out late in the evening July 12 in the watershed, sending up a thick plume of smoke the next morning. "It was very visible from the city, so residents were quite concerned," Woodley said. "They wanted to know if it was spreading and what was happening." Following the fire and rising concern among residents, Woodley and other city department chiefs developed a multi-pronged plan to let residents know about the status of nearby fires, especially fires which threaten the city or the watershed. As a result of those concerns, a wildfire information phone number has been created. Residents can call the phone number for information about fires in the Ashland vicinity. The information will be as current as the most recent information received from the managing jurisdiction and the city. Woodley or other AFR officials can update the message while in the field by cell phone, making the information available almost instantaneously. "The hope is we can reduce the number of phone calls in the future," Woodley said. In addition, information received from the agency managing the fire will be posted on the city's Web site, www.ashland.or.us and on the Rogue Valley Community Television channel 31 reader board. "I think people are becoming more aware. Wildfire and its danger is becoming more acute and publicized," Woodley said. "I don't think you can ever communicate too much with the public." If a fire starts on a weekend, as in the case of the Horn Gap fire, city staff will be contacted at home to activate all sources of information. "We thought having the most avenues of emergency communication might be useful," Woodley said. The fire information number is 552-2490. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -