Document text
SUNNY Temp: 86 °F Wind: WNW at 9 mph Thursday, July 24, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend July 8, 2003 A helicopter with a water bucket makes a pass over a wildfire near Williams that had spread to 200 acres Monday evening. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli 200-acre fire threatens homes Officials call for voluntary evacuations near Williams, but no structures are lost. The cause remains unknown By MARK FREEMAN and BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Gusting winds fanned a small brush fire Monday afternoon into a 200-acre blaze that threatened more than 30 homes in the Williams area of Josephine County, authorities said. Josephine County sheriff’s deputies called for volunteer evacuations of about three dozen residences Monday evening in the path of the advancing Powell Creek fire, Southern Oregon’s first major forest fire of the season. Winds as stiff as 40 mph pushed flames through 125 acres of grass, brush and timber in its first two hours, with gusts also tossing embers forward to create small "spot" fires in its path. About 100 firefighters, four helicopters with water buckets and one air tanker descended on the flames about 90 minutes after it was discovered just before 4 p.m., according to Dennis Turco, a fire-prevention specialist from the Oregon Department of Forestry. Advertisement "It doesn’t look good right now," Turco said Monday evening. "Hopefully, the wind will die down at nightfall so we can try to get a line around this thing. But at least it’s moving away from the Williams Valley, where the majority of the population is." The fire was moving west Monday evening toward residences along Dreamhill Drive and Upper Powell Creek Road. Residents were urged to evacuate about 5:30 p.m., and fire trucks from across the Rogue Valley were ordered in to defend homes, Turco said. Authorities also closed four roads to about 70 homes. Closed were Upper Powell Creek Road, Dreamhill Drive, Glenlyn Way and Pine Tree Drive. No injuries or lost structures were reported as of late Monday, when the fire’s size was estimated at as much as 200 acres. The fire’s rapid growth surprised residents of the area around Water Gap Road, just west of the community of Provolt, on Highway 238. "We smelled smoke around 4 p.m.," said Marvin Boyce at one of the Dreamhill Drive residences urged to evacuate. "We’re packing essentials and as many clothes as we can," Boyce said. The westward movement of the flames brought relief to Richard Stone, whose Water Gap Road residence was about a mile from the fire and not in its path as of Monday evening. "We see the smoke and the plane activities," Stone said as an air tanker buzzed overhead. "I’m not nervous at all. I’m in a good place. I’m real happy right now." If the fire skirts around the homes, it will then run toward federal Bureau of Land Management land that is uninhabited, Turco said. Evacuees were being funneled toward the Williams Grange Hall. The evacuations were voluntary because Oregon law does not allow mandatory home evacuations because of wildfire, Turco said. No cause was available Monday. There were no lightning strikes reported in the area, Turco said. The fire appears to have ignited in a brushy area near a cluster of residences where Powell Creek Road intersects Dreamhill Drive, and investigators were looking to pinpoint the fire’s origin, Turco said. Winds carried smoke south and then abruptly east into Medford, where the smells of wildfire have been rare so far this summer. The Powell Creek fire is the first local fire of the season to eclipse 100 acres. Firefighters were hoping for a break from Monday’s tricky winds, and they may get it. Relatively cooler weather and calmer winds could help firefighters working the fire today. Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Medford were expecting temperatures in the mid-80s, with humidity levels around 30 percent and winds of 10 to 15 mph. Meteorologist Mike Whelchel said temperatures will climb back into the 90s by Wednesday and the high 90s by week’s end. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times