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Extreme fire danger demands caution Jim Craven photo By Paul Fattig and Jessica Smith Dan Thorpe suggests you consider a few potential expenses before you head for the outdoors this morning. For example, there is the cost of a 20-person fire crew, including travel and support. That�s about $5,000 a day. Then there is the price of $2,000 and up each time a plane carrying retardant drops a load on a wildfire. "If you start a fire, you can be billed for it," explained Thorpe, Medford Unit Forester for the Oregon Department of Forestry. Although fire officials are quick to observe that most local residents have shown plenty of common sense when it comes to the growing fire danger, fire officials want to remind residents that the danger has now climbed to extreme in Jackson and Josephine counties. A lightning strike started a small fire 1 mile east of Soda Mountain Saturday evening. At 9 p.m., the size of the fire was estimated at three-fourths of an acre to 1 acre, according to a representative at the state Department of Forestry. Engines were on scene and a hand crew was en route. Officials anticipated putting out the blaze over night. Since it is a wilderness area and was dark at the time, firefighters hesitated bringing in heavier equipment, the representative said. Elsewhere, firefighters are at work trying to contain several blazes in Eastern Oregon, the first in the state after weeks of seeing fires break out in neighboring regions. Conditions locally continue to increase the fire risk. In addition to weeks of hot weather, it has been 106 days since Medford has had significant rainfall, Thorpe said. "It hasn�t been this dry in five years," he said. "We�re pushing the peak. "This is pretty typical of what we had experienced through the drought years," he added, referring to the decade-long drought that ended in 1994. The restrictions, which went into effect Saturday, prohibit such activity as the public use of chain saws, non-agricultural mowing of dry grass and off-road motor vehicle use. Campfires are allowed only in designated campgrounds, such as parks. Cutting, welding and grinding of metal is prohibited."With wildfires raging in every one of our neighboring states, the last thing we need are preventable human-caused fires destroying resources, homes and property here at home," said Dennis turco, fire prevention specialist for the district.State firefighters, who protect state, county, private and Bureau of Land Management wildlands, snuffed out a fire which burned up to an acre of grass and brush near the spillway at Lost Creek early Saturday afternoon. The cause of the fire is being investigated.On Friday, the department�s firefighters, working with firefighters from Fire District 5 and Ashland Fire & Rescue, responded to a grass fire sparked by a propane stove.Fire officials said a camper lit the stove shortly before noon to cook, but the heat from the gas flame melted a plastic tarp and burned the surrounding grass and star thistle.The fire destroyed a tent and personal items belonging to the camper and charred about three acres belonging to John Billings of Ashland. No other structures were damaged.Steve Renskers, a Fire District 5 spokesman, said the camper was "just asking for something to happen" when he lit the stove.High temperatures, low humidity and moderate winds significantly increase the risk of wildfire this time of year, Renskers said."We have to be a lot more aware of what we�re doing and where we�re doing it," he said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA