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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Crisis intervention: Medford police take training in response to surge in mental health calls Mail Tribune 100: March 22, 1915 Restaurant Inspections: Sunday, March 22 Since You Asked: Missing deer-crossing signs to be replaced Emergency Services, March 22 Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Crisis intervention: Medford police take training in response to surge in mental health calls Emergency Services, March 22 21 people fined $260 each in Medford police pedestrian safety operation Emergency Services, March 21 Talent father faces assault charges in alleged whipping Politics and Elections Arthur I. Cyr: Iran – a crisis without end Arthur I. Cyr: South Korea represents long-term triumph – for them and for US Special election: Jackson County voters OK marijuana tax Ex-Merkley aide chosen as Oregon secretary of state Ashland: Budget increase, swimming pool funding discussion on council agenda Education Oregon school officials blasting new education budget Eight vie for Medford School Board positions Proposed Medford textbook raises constitutional concern North Medford High School principal to retire in June Southern Oregon University's building boom adds up to $130 million Environment Mt. Ashland Ski Area to host party March 28 Controversial asphalt plant in Talent wins county planning approval Mt. Ashland hopes coming storm will reopen ski area Odd visitors found off Oregon Coast Forum explores data gathered in Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument State News Dave Frohnmayer remembered at Eugene memorial Oregon school officials blasting new education budget Bend company's aim: Connect investors to Africa Brown proposes $1 billion in California drought spending Are they decorations or desecration? Nation - World Obituaries Fred Max Middlebusher M."Dolly" Cecilia Wood Norman Christlieb Woodie A. Tucker, Jr. Erling (Ole) Olsen Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Bank of America is predicting a massive Tesla collapse Sports Latest Stories No. 11 Gonzaga stuns No. 3 Oregon State Every wins Bay Hill for second straight year Keselowski holds off Harvick late at Fontana Raiders take nightcap for CC split Bledsoe gets hot, fuels Suns Varsity 541 College Sports No. 11 Gonzaga stuns No. 3 Oregon State Raiders take nightcap for CC split ROUND TWO Rasmussen tosses Beavers' first perfect game Corban takes two from Raiders Pro Sports Every wins Bay Hill for second straight year Bledsoe gets hot, fuels Suns Aldridge injured as Blazers lose fourth straight Stenson surges into Bay Hill lead Djokovic, Federer advance to Indian Wells final Community Sports Business Latest Stories Blog: Three Cheers for Today! Test Drive: 2015 Subaru Outback Limited Silvio Calabi: 2015 Cherokee is a modern Jeep Oregon winemaking emerges as mighty agricultural force Rogue Disposal plans natural gas fueling site Real Estate News East McAndrews Road sees a resurgence in commercial projects Business briefs: March 7 New construction prices jump 18.2 percent in Jackson County People In Business People in Business: Feb. 28 People in Business Transportation Rogue Disposal plans natural gas fueling site Alaska, United Express boost Medford airport to record February CEO Rieder leaving Erickson March 31 Lodging gains bode well for travel industries Agriculture Harry & David announces new president Warm winter has fruit growers poised for action Opinion Latest Letters to the Editor, March 22 George Will: Social inequality's deepening roots Guest Opinion: Raise your voice against child abuse Dana Milbank: Can Israel remain a democracy? Our View: Medford police tried to avoid confrontation Editorials Our View: Medford police tried to avoid confrontation Other Views: Dave Frohnmayer was a man of honor Our View: Textbook authors' reasoning hard to fathom Our View: White House public records move is less than sunny Our View: Where the wild things shouldn't be Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, March 22 Letters to the Editor, March 21 Letters to the Editor, March 20 Letters to the Editor, March 19 Letters to the Editor, March 18 Columns George Will: Social inequality's deepening roots Guest Opinion: Raise your voice against child abuse Dana Milbank: Can Israel remain a democracy? Charles Krauthammer: No peace in our time Matthew T. Mangino: When is a confession not a confession? Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Raise your voice against child abuse Guest Opinion: Central Point Cemetery needs work and city action Guest Opinion: Return to clearcutting is wrong approach for counties Guest Opinion: Plan a Hawthorne playground for all children Guest Opinion: There is nothing uniform about the Uniform Crime Report Lifestyle Latest stories Community blog: Sleep Tight: Making Your Bed, Body and Mind Ready for Rest SOUTHERN OREGON JOURNAL: Listening in on spring Adopt a pet: Herman Plant a few dahlias, Dahling Cycling through the pear blossoms Food Eat this, not that Peanut allergy breakthrough Eat your sprouts More fast food perils Pork perfection: Consider pork steaks instead of ham for the Easter dinner table Home and Garden Plant a few dahlias, Dahling Hello, honey: Invite bees for a lush garden Understand home inspection Dear Monty: Tips for checking out an existing septic system Garden Cameos: Now is the perfect time to spot wildflowers Health Community blog: Sleep Tight: Making Your Bed, Body and Mind Ready for Rest Health Watch: 5 tips for seasonal allergy relief A better bedtime Studying stress Eat this, not that Hiking Biking Faith Religion briefs Religion News: Presbyterian Church gives approval on same-sex marriage Religion briefs: Friday, March 13 More religion events in the Rogue Valley Religion Briefs Milestones and Achievements Haga-Parks Exercise helps special-needs kids adjust to airport procedures Engagement: Workman-Wright Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Here's five top entertainment picks for the coming week Alt-rock band Key of Three is a contender this weekend at Rising Stars Improv rock and folk band hosts a dance party at the Ashland Community Center Andrew Lloyd Webber's lush musical 'Sunset Boulevard' opens at Camelot Theatre in Talent Review: 'Same Time' after all these years Theater Camelot's 'Sunset Boulevard' ambitious, not as dark Andrew Lloyd Webber's lush musical 'Sunset Boulevard' opens at Camelot Theatre in Talent Review: Thanks for the Memories pulls off challenging 'Anastasia' Review: 'Same Time' after all these years Randall Theatre presents playwright Bernard Slade's comedy Music Live Music in Local Clubs Alt-rock band Key of Three is a contender this weekend at Rising Stars Improv rock and folk band hosts a dance party at the Ashland Community Center Kites & Crows, Ryan Marchand and Mercy Duo face-off this weekend at Rising Stars music competition in Jacksonville Rogue Valley Chorale presents 'A Festival of Choirs' at the Craterian Theatre Community Events Rogue Valley artist Linda Evans' pastel paintings capture landscapes of Southern Oregon Ashland Independent Film Festival announces this year's lineup OSF Hip-Hop Poetry Open Mic Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhibits by regional artists Jesse Lawson and Joe Moxley host 'Barkeeper' Dining Restaurant Inspections: Sunday, March 22 Jasmine Thai Cuisine Restaurant Inspections Agave offers gourmet tacos, tamales, ensaladas and more Serra storms Seattle Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines/Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Crisis intervention: Medford police take training in response to surge in mental health calls ... Guest Opinion: Raise your voice against child abuse ... Our View: Medford police tried to avoid confrontation ... Crisis intervention: Medford police take training in response to surge in mental health calls ... Guest Opinion: Raise your voice against child abuse ... Our View: Medford police tried to avoid confrontation ... Watching and waiting Winds hold the key for Butte Falls as wildfire builds to 900 acres Winds hold the key for Butte Falls as wildfire builds to 900 acres. Comment By Mark Freeman MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Posted Sep. 19, 2008 at 12:01 AM Updated Sep 19, 2008 at 12:52 AM By Mark Freeman Posted Sep. 19, 2008 at 12:01 AM Updated Sep 19, 2008 at 12:52 AM » Social News BUTTE FALLS — A 900-acre wildfire burning in thick timber continued Thursday to threaten Butte Falls, sending some townspeople packing as firefighters hustled to quell the blaze. No evacuations were ordered in response to the three-day-old Double Day fire, which is posing a rare threat to this 445-person town completely surrounded by forestland abutting city limits in the Cascade Mountains. Firefighters fear north-blowing winds today like those that exploded the fire Wednesday could again push flames toward Butte Falls. The fire remained 11/2 miles from town late Thursday, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. "If we get heavy winds from the south, there's a potential for evacuation — but that's a worst-case scenario," said Jaime Paul, an Oregon Department of Forestry spokesperson in Butte Falls. "It could come in an hour, it could come in 24 hours, it could be never," Paul said. Jackson County sheriff's deputies mobilized a plan in case a state forestry incident command team makes the call for mandatory or voluntary evacuations. If summoned, police and county roads workers will go house to house with a "knock and talk" to inform people of any changes, sheriff's Lt. Pat Rowland said. Buses will be called in to help evacuate those in need of assistance and shelter will be found for them, Rowland said. "Hopefully, it won't come to that," Rowland said. "It all depends on what the wind does." Wind has been a four-letter word to firefighters here ever since persistent gusts Wednesday bellowed a Tuesday evening lightning strike into what townspeople call the first real fire threat to Butte Falls in decades. Winds fanned the fire into 600 acres in its first day, advancing so quickly that fire crews could not attack it initially from the front, state forestry spokesman Brian Ballou said. After a morning of shifting winds Thursday, activity died down as firefighters pummeled the fire from the air and ground. TouVelle State Park closed to the public as ODF crews set up accommodations for firefighters. Persistent retardant drops from as many as four planes and water blasts from a host of helicopters joined hand crews and bulldozers on the ground who were carving fire lines in advance of the flames, which remained in commercial forest and Bureau of Land Management land. Kimberly Miller said she was taking no chances. Wednesday night she evacuated her five horses from her 9-acre homesite and kept her 11-year-old daughter, Arianna Empey, out of school in case they were forced to flee. "The horses are out and that's all I care about," says Miller, who moved to the area about five years ago. "You never really think it could happen to you until it does." New resident Tony Johnson said he and others packed their vehicles Wednesday night should the evacuation notice come. "A fire here could take out the whole town," said Johnson, who found burned leaves throughout town Thursday. "But everything we own is in our house, just like everybody else. Like a lot of people, I think I'll stay here and fight." But some of the Butte Falls Tavern faithful, who have history on their side, believed Johnson had nothing to worry about. "You can tell who's been here and who's new," said Josh Curphey, a Butte Falls native. "The new ones are packing." Firefighters today planned more aggressive attacks from the ground and the air, but they're hoping winds and a low-pressure system forecast for today will blow the fire back into itself and away from Butte Falls, Paul said. "They're not banking on it, but they're hoping," Paul said. Even if it does, a quick change in winds could make for problems for the town and trigger an evacuation, Ballou said. "It's going to be a possibility for several more days," Ballou said. If winds return and an evacuation is ordered, it won't be because Butte Falls risked succumbing "to a wall of flames," Ballou said. "It would be a wall of smoke filled with embers and debris, with a blizzard of burning stuff falling out of it," Ballou said. "It's hard to defend against that." Commercial forestlands have corralled Butte Falls so tightly that it can't grow in size, yet it has sidestepped threats from fire for decades. One possibility, Ballou said, was that years of intensive logging kept fuel loads low, and loggers buzzing around the heavily roaded areas pounced on lightning strikes before they turned troubling. Lloyd Holm, a former Forest Service firefighter, has lived in Butte Falls for 50 years and said he's never seen a fire pose a real threat to Butte Falls. And he was not ready to leave his tavern bar stool Thursday for this one. "We used to call it 'the Asbestos Forest' because it never burned," Holm said. "Maybe it's catching up to us." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected]. By Mark Freeman MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Posted Sep. 19, 2008 at 12:01 AM Updated Sep 19, 2008 at 12:52 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. 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