Document text
Fire officials wishing for rain Rural dwellers should guard against blazes By PAUL FATTIG Jim Wolf doesn't want to put a damper on anyone's Memorial Day weekend, but he wouldn't mind a little rain. "We are probably the only people who look forward to rain on Memorial Day," said the fire prevention planner for the state Department of Forestry's Southwest Oregon District office in Central Point. "But as soon as the tall grasses dry out -- and that'll happen fairly quickly -- then we start getting a lot of fires," he added, noting that Memorial Day invariably sends folks packing for the woods for picnics and barbecues. The department's firefighters battle wildfires on private, county, state and Bureau of Land Management property. The district includes Jackson and Josephine counties. Although fire season has not yet been declared, the department has already launched its seven-day-a-week fire protection program. Fire season in the two counties normally starts early in June, although it didn't begin until July 1 of last year, the latest since records began in 1967. The earliest beginning for the season was April 18. With temperatures expected to reach 90 degrees today, the lush green grass now filling the Rogue Valley bowl can quickly turn into tinder for wildfires, he said. Those living in suburbs and rural areas should be taking steps now to ensure their homes are safe from the wildfires that invariably ignite during the summer, he said. "The long-range outlook is that the hot dry weather is a little ways off -- that'll probably be in July and August," he said, citing National Weather Service predictions that call for cooler and wetter weather for the region through the next two months. "But when the fire season gets here, it will get here in a big way," he predicted. Now is the time for residents to prepare for the hot weather, he said. "People should be doing vegetation management around their homes before it gets hot and dry," he said. In other words, break out the mower, scythe or line trimmer. Residents should keep grass and other vegetation cut back within 100 feet of buildings, he said. They should also look for potential hot spots, such as grass growing up under an electric fence that can spark a fire once the grass dries out, he said. "This time of year is a good time to mow, before the grass cures out," he said. Tree needles and leaves should be removed from rain gutters before they dry out and become fuel for a fire, he added. Residents wanting specific advice on how to reduce wildfire danger around their homes are encouraged to call the office at 664-3328 to ask an ODF representative to visit their home. The visit takes about a half hour, Wolf said. Common sense indicates it's a little late in the spring for debris burning, he warned. "We've already had one escaped debris burn in Josephine County," he said. "It is green out there, but it hasn't been that wet.'' He suggests taking yard debris to the Biomass One sites in White City or Murphy, or to the transfer station in White City. "This grass we have now will cure out, no matter how cold or wet our spring is," he said. "When August rolls around, it'll be dry. We need to be ready for that." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA