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Ashland cleans up after storm While driving range nets come down at Oak Knoll By Sean Wolfe Ashland Daily Tidings Overnight winds failed to duplicate the intensity of the previous night's storm, giving Ashland a respite forecasters say is likely to last. Friday night's winds dropped considerably to around 30 mph, according to local weather-watcher Doyle Hirsch. "The winds were not nearly as strong. I recorded a max of 38 mph, which is far less than what we got yesterday, when they went over 50 mph. And it doesn't look like we'll have any more trees blowing down for a while," Hirsch said. Downed nets on the driving range at Oak Knoll golf course leave a reminder of the high winds - peaking at 52 mph - that blew through Ashland on Thursday. Photo by Chris Miller Hirsch's observations were supported by the latest reports from the National Weather Service, which predicted Saturday winds in the 10 mph range. That amounts to a lucky break for city parks workers, who will continue their clean-up efforts into early next week, according to Parks Superintendent Steve Gies. Parks workers are confronting a half-dozen large trees in the 50- to 70-foot range that toppled during Thursday's windstorm. "We're probably half-done," Gies said. "The tree that went down in (Lithia Park's) Japanese garden - that one was hard to get to, and is going to take a lot of hand work. We'll probably be working on them through Monday." Parks crews are chipping the downed trees. The chips will be recycled for use on parks pathways. In the meantime, a number of downed nets at the Oak Knoll golf course driving range will have to wait for drier conditions before park workers can deploy a cherry-picker. "If it stays wet out there, we can't get the equipment in until it dries out. It could be a week to six weeks depending on ground conditions. It's a pretty big piece of machinery," Gies said. Downed nets are an annual theme for Gies. The nets are pricey - around $12,000 for the lot of them - and have an expected lifespan of between five to seven years. To save money, Gies said the nets will likely be repaired. "It's part of the job. It's amazing how much wind those nets catch. They're out in the sun all day, and that puts wear and tear on them. And once they get a little tear in them, and the wind hits - they just go down. It's the nature of the beast," Gies said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | 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 -