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Hot start to fire season By Sean Wolfe Ashland Daily Tidings A statewide heat wave has punctuated the beginning of fire season for Jackson and Josephine counties, which commenced at 12:01 a.m. today. Record-breaking temperatures in Ashland heralded the season's start. Temperatures in Ashland broke 96 Thursday. According to Ashland weather-watcher Doyle Hirsch, it's the first time since 1970 that temperatures have escalated to such a level this early in the year. Medford and Roseburg got their own shots of stifling heat Thursday - 98 and 99 degrees, respectively - but hadn't broken any official records. Similar record heat levels hit Salem, Portland and other Oregon cities. Hirsch said this could easily spell a repeat of last year's smoke-choked summer. "This is without a doubt the driest late spring I've ever recorded. Our last measurable rain was May 11, and there's no new rain in sight. The temperatures are way above normal, which means that despite the rain, things are going to dry out unbelievably fast," Hirsch said. "What this means is that we're going to be in the same state as last year. Dry spring, a dry May, no rain in June or July. And you saw what happened last year. What will this mean around July? It's kind of scary. I would say dryness is about the same as the first week in July of last year. It's not a good sign, and I think officials are playing it down because of last year. Unless we get some rain, people are going to have to be careful out there." County and local fire officials have issued new warnings and restrictions to protect residents from wildfire danger. Open and barrel burning are now forbidden, industrial workers face restrictions on the kind of equipment they can use, and homeowners have been warned to create fire-safe perimeters around their dwellings. In addition, those living in rural areas - particularly the vulnerable forest/urban interface - are being advised to ensure their roads are wide enough to accommodate emergency vehicles, and that the addresses on their dwellings are easily visible. In the meantime, many of these interface landholders dwelling along the western flanks of Ashland, Talent, Phoenix and Medford are slated in coming months to face new requirements for the maintenance of their properties and woodlots in order to avoid onerous penalties for wildfire suppression costs. As it stands, Senate Bill 360 - a piece of Oregon legislation enacted in 1997 - allows the state to collect up to $100,000 in suppression costs from a landowner if three things are true: A wildland fire originates on the owner's property, the fire spreads within the protection zone around a structure and driveway that does not meet set standards, and the Oregon Department of Forestry incurs extraordinary costs for suppression. The cost collection may be greater than $100,000 if a landowner is found to be negligent in the origin of the fire. According to ODF fire prevention planner Jim Wolf, additional liabilities depend on the owner's actions. "It depends on their activities. If they're negligent or malicious in the cause of the fire, then they're liable for all suppression costs with no cap. It can literally run into millions of dollars," Wolf said. "The next level of exposure is a $300,000 cap that pertains to conducting slash burning, debris burning, or a forest commercial operation - like logging. Then, (the landholder) and the contractor are responsible for up to $300,000," Wolf said. The provisions of SB360 are not likely to be felt for at least a year, and perhaps longer. That's because the law is deliberately vague, leaving treatment prescriptions to be designed by local committees. The classification committee in charge of Jackson County, of which ODF employees hold three of its five positions, has been hard at work poring over maps, and establishing zones where prescriptions will be applied, and penalties assessed should a wildfire break out. At present, the committee has defined areas along the west side of Interstate 5 stretching south of Ashland up through Medford and parts north. According to Wolf, when the work is complete, landholders will be contacted with the option to "self-certify" their lands in order to avoid increased insurance liability. By and large the prescriptions conform to widely held notions about how to best establish defensible space within the flammable interface zone. "Landowners will have a choice of meeting a several sets of standards, depending upon their situation and desires. The standards focus on reducing accumulations of flammable vegetation and materials around structures and along driveways. This 'fuel break' will extend from the structure out 30 to 100 feet, depending upon the rating," Wolf said. Once the committee completes its work, interface landholders will have two years to come into compliance, or run the risk of paying the state for dousing their fires. 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 -