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91 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, July 13, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 2, 2002 BLM to burn 7,000 acres after rains Pile burning reduces hazardous fuels in and around communities at risk By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Citing forest health and fire hazard reduction, the Bureau of Land Management plans to burn nearly 7,000 acres in its Medford District this fall and early winter. That includes about 6,400 acres of pile burning and another 300 acres of underburning — a low intensity fire on the forest floor to reduce ground fuels while protecting trees. However, the burning season, which began shortly after the heavy rains earlier this month, have temporarily been placed on hold until wet weather returns. "This dry weather we’ve had lately has been slowing us down," explained district spokeswoman Jeanne Klein. "We won’t be doing any more until we get some more rain," she added. "It has really dried out quite a bit out there." Although the rainfall is near normal for the season, it hasn’t rained in the region for several weeks, creating dry conditions that could cause a fire to escape, officials said. Under the auspices of the National Fire Plan, much of the focus is to reduce hazardous fuels in and around communities at risk, Klein indicated. The national plan identified 26 communities at wildfire risk in interior southwestern Oregon. The district’s goal is to burn some 23,000 acres this year. In addition to reducing fire hazard, the majority of the burning will focus on restoring fire-dependent ecosystems while some burning will remove slash created from forest management activities. Handpile burning will occur across the district, including roughly 1,000 acres in non-commercial oak woodlands and shrublands and 2,400 acres in commercial timber stands that were thinned in the Sterling Creek, Forest Creek, Little Applegate, Tyler Creek and Thompson Creek drainages. Most of that will be in the Sterling and Forest creek drainages. Another 1,000 acres of handpiles will be burned near the communities of Galice, Williams, Rogue River, Grants Pass, Merlin, Cave Junction and Wilderville. Smoke may be visible from these communities. In the northern portion of the district, about 500 acres will be burned north of the community of Rogue River off West Evans Creek Road, in the Salt Creek drainage off Highway 140 and near Butte Falls. Another 1,500 acres of handpile burning will occur in the Grave Creek and middle fork of Cow Creek watersheds. The underburning will occur northeast of Galice and west of Wilderville. Daily updated information about the project is available by calling 541-618-2354 or 800-267-3126. Recorded updates are made by 9 a.m. on each day that burning is planned. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times