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Fire ignites in hills By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings Helicopters waged war on a small wildfire in the Ashland Watershed Saturday morning, attempting to slow the fire's progress as ground crews made the strenuous hike to the blaze. A tell-tale plume of smoke rises from the Ashland Watershed area Saturday. Helicopters dumped water from above to keep the fire cool as firefighters moved into position. Ashland Daily Tidings/CHRIS MILLER "They've been dropping air retardant, and it's pretty steep terrain," Ashland Fire Chief Keith Woodley said Saturday morning, explaining the importance of the aerial attack at the hard-to-reach site. "It would be a steep hike in that area." The Horn Gap Fire had grown to about 9 acres by 10 a.m. Saturday, and crews from the United States Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry were attempting to dig a line around the fire in the rugged area. A thick column of smoke could be seen over Ashland early Saturday morning, prompting calls to the fire department from concerned citizens. "Being so close to watershed is always a concern," Ashland Assistant Fire Chief Dave Hard said. "What we're doing is monitoring it and keeping an eye on (progress made by ODF and the Forest Service). Hopefully they can get it early this morning. This shows how bad fire conditions are in just mid-July." Working throughout the day Saturday, two light helicopters and one heavy chopper carted buckets of water from Ashland's Reeder Reservoir to cool the head and flanks of the fire, which is located about three miles southwest of Ashland in the northwest edge of the Watershed near Horn Gap. "It's close, its very close," ODF Dispatch Supervisor Terry Frazier said. "But the weather is supposed to be pretty calm today, and we're not too worried." Five ODF and USFS engine crews were on the job by Saturday afternoon, and a hotshot crew from the Rogue River National Forest was expected to join the fray sometime during the day. Two additional crews and two airtankers were also on order. "At this point it's no threat to City of Ashland," Woodley said Saturday morning. "There's no reason for anyone to panic." The issue of fire hazard in the Watershed has been a focus of community concern and debate for years. Nearly 90 years of fire suppression have left the Watershed at risk of catastrophic fire due to a build-up of dense, overgrown vegetation and trees. A large burn in the watershed could have a serious impact on the city's water supply. In the summer of 2002, two small fires were stopped before they could grow too large in the watershed, and in 2001, the devastating Quartz Fire came within five miles of the sensitive area. 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 -