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It's dry as a bone By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tiding While fire crews are getting a handle on the Powell Creek fire near Williams, hot and dry weather across Southern Oregon has firefighters watching the wildlands warily. Geoff Davis does a flip off of a rope swing Wednesday for a splash into the icy cold water of Granite Street Reservoir. It was a good way to cool down as temperatures climbed into the 90s. The weather will remain warm into next week, forecasters say. Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA "Looking at the amount of moisture (in brush and grasses), we are actually worse off than we were last year at this time," said Dennis Turco, a fire-prevention specialist with the Oregon Department of Forestry. "We've had a lot of wind in the afternoons and it's really dried things off so that it isn't looking too good for big fires." Ashland and Medford have seen no rain since May, according to Larry Jacobs of the National Weather Service office in Medford. "There have been about three other Junes since records have been kept with no rain," Jacobs said today, adding that Southern Oregon climate records started to be charted nearly a century ago. "Right now there is no rain in sight," Jacobs said. "It's really dry out there - more than a typical July." Ashland amateur weather buff Doyle Hirsch confirmed Jacobs' observations. "We average a half an inch of rain in July, but there's none in sight," Hirsch said. "This is the first time I've never recorded any rain in June, and it's very possible we could have no rain at all in August. It's been extremely dry." The last measurable rain in Ashland was on May 11, when one quarter of an inch fell, according to Hirsch. "This is the driest early summer I've every recorded," Hirsch said. "You can see how these little spot fires are popping up everywhere - that gives you an idea how dry it is." Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90s today, but then drop a few degrees through Sunday as some clouds move in. The dry weather should not hurt fire fighting efforts at the Powell Creek fire, unless accompanied by winds, according to Turco. The fire should be contained by this afternoon, but nothing is certain when dealing with fire and the weather, he said. "We have 50 percent containment and we expect full containment by 6 p.m.," Turco said. "If conditions change, we may have to push that forward." Full containment would consist of a complete line around the fire, with hot spots mopped up to a distance of 50 feet within the burn, in this case, Turco said. No new fires had been reported in Southern Oregon as of this morning, Turco said. In the face of continued hot, dry weather, the Oregon Department of Forestry has placed restrictions on commercial forest operations that have the potential to start wildfires. The department has called for "industrial fire precaution level 2" restrictions to go into effect at 1 p.m. today in Jackson and Josephine counties. The set of restrictions, commonly referred to as "Hoot Owl" by the timber industry, limits commercial activity in the woods between 1 and 8 p.m., when fire danger is highest, Turco said. During the heat of the afternoon, welding, metal cutting, blasting, cable yarding of logs and using power saws outside log-loading areas are prohibited. In the evening, when the temperature drops and humidity rises, loggers can resume work, Turco said. A similar set of restrictions that applies to the general public went into effect July 1. 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 -