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--> --> Officials call end to fire season By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings The 2001 fire season is now over, and despite an above-average number of fires, officials believe the season might have seen much more devastation. "Yea, it's over!" Ashland Fire & Rescue Chief Keith Woodley said. "That's my official quote." Woodley credited an educated Ashland public with the lack of fire in the city this year. With the exception of one home lost to a fire caused by fireworks, the city saw only small grass and brush fires, none of which grew dangerous. "It was probably the most threatening season I've seen in my 11 years in the valley," Woodley said. Woodley recommends homeowners take advantage of the winter months to thin trees and reduce brush around their homes. "We can't year after year rely on those circumstances to work out," Woodley said. "Next year may not be the worst season in 30 years like this year was supposed to be, but we don't know." Oregon Department of Forestry Fire Prevention Specialist Dennis Turco agreed Southern Oregon was fortunate this year, considering the dangerous conditions. "The wildfire situation could have been much worse," Turco said. "For the most part, our public followed the fire season restrictions during critical periods, and that really helped." This has been the fourth driest year on record, making it very difficult to prevent fires from starting and to control the ones which did start. One of the largest fires of the season was the Quartz Fire, which burned more than 6,000 acres - most of it on a mixture of private and federal land - over two weeks in August before it was contained. The fire started near the Applegate Valley and came within five miles of the Ashland Watershed. In the ODF Southwest Oregon District - which combines state land in Jackson and Josephine counties - firefighters battled 386 wildfires for a total of 3,346 acres. There were 155 fires this year caused by lightning - as the Quartz Fire was - nearly doubling the 10-year average of 79 fires a season. Human-caused fires, which accounted for 213 fires this season, were up 15 percent from the 10-year average of 185. The ODF historically has stopped 98 percent of all fires at 10 acres or less, but that percentage dropped to 96.7 percent this year as fires burned hotter and faster in the dry conditions. The threat of fire lessens with the cold, damp autumn weather, but concern over air quality increases as open burning and barrel burning restrictions are lifted and people increase woodstove use. More smoke "can lead to smoke and pollution problems - problems that harm the environment and people's health," Jackson County Environmental Health Division Program Manager Gary Stevens said. Burning restrictions vary throughout the county and depend on the daily air quality and ventilation conditions. Residents should call 776-7007 for more information. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing