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Wet days lower forest fire danger By PAUL FATTIG The state Department of Forestry has dropped the fire danger from extreme to high in Jackson and Josephine counties, thanks to a good soaking by Mother Nature. But the wet thunderstorm that swept in Tuesday night also peppered the two counties with more than 2,500 lightning strikes, sparking at least 25 small wildfires that are being mopped up as they are discovered. At least 15 lightning-caused fires have been spotted on state-protected forests in Jackson County, with another five reported in Josephine County. Five fires caused by lightning have also been reported in the Rogue River National Forest. And there are likely several "sleepers" smoldering in local forests that will flame up in the next few days, firefighters warn. Most of the Jackson County fires are in the Butte Falls and Prospect areas as well as the Sardine Creek drainage, said Dan Thorpe, spokesman for the department's district office in Central Point. "We're looking for more out there," he said. "With sleepers, it seems like every day that goes by, the sleepers get a little bigger." "Some places got an inch to three inches of rain but a log or tree hit by lightning will often smolder for awhile, then the fire will pop up a couple of days later," added Greg Gilpin, forester for the department's Grants Pass office. "We'll be sending an aerial patrol out for a few days." State firefighters protect private, county, state and Bureau of Land Management forest and brush lands. The five fires reported on the Rogue River forest were located just north of Prospect, on the Dead Indian Plateau and near the Red Buttes Wilderness, said Phil Cardin, dispatcher at the Forest Service's Medford Fire Center. Firefighters were hiking into the site of the small fire near the Red Buttes Wilderness Area Wednesday afternoon, he said. No fires were reported in the Siskiyou National Forest as of Wednesday afternoon, but dispatcher Shelly Hoffer at the Grants Pass Interagency Fire Center said firefighters were still checking out areas hidden by clouds. The five fires on state-protected land in Josephine County were being mopped up, she said. Although the weather is wetter and cooler than normal, Thorpe noted that it's still mid-August, and that the next four weeks into early September are often the most dangerous of the year. "We've relaxed the restrictions a little but things are going to be back to normal in a couple of days," Thorpe predicted, noting that "normal" means the fire danger may climb back to extreme. The public is still barred from the use of chainsaws, mowers and other machinery to between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. However, debris burning is still prohibited. Campfires are allowed only in designated campgrounds. In industrial logging operations, cable yarding is allowed. With the exception of loading sites, chainsaws can be used between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Meanwhile, firefighters appreciate the recent cool weather, Thorpe said. "Every cool day we go through in August is one day closer to Christmas," he said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA