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Another 48 hours, 11 fires to fight Crews crossed counties to battle multiple blazes By Paul Fattig Every time Mother Nature zapped the ground with a sizzling yellow bolt in recent days, firefighters in canary-yellow fire retardant garb countered her move. Rappelling from helicopters, hiking double-time cross country or attacking with pumper trucks, fire crews struck back with lightning speed to snuff out smokes popping up in Jackson and Josephine counties during the past 48 hours. With fire danger in the extreme range and lightning storms sparking fires through Thursday night, officials have been pulling out all the stops to suppress the fires quickly. In the past 48 hours, 11 small lightning-caused fires have been doused on the Bureau of Land Management�s Medford District. Firefighters dispatched from the Grants Pass Interagency Fire Center put out 16 fires during the same period. They continue to battle seven small fires burning in the Siskiyou National Forest. The largest still burning is four acres. In the southern reaches of the Rogue River National Forest, three fires were quickly extinguished early this week. Fire crews on Thursday were racing to extinguish three small lightning-sparked fires high in the Prospect Ranger District. "You gotta get them when they are small, " stressed Don Rose, spokesman for the Grants Pass Interagency Fire Center. An interagency task force comprised of BLM, Forest Service and Oregon Department of Forestry firefighters has been formed to provide initial attack. "We will continue to work together through the remainder of this hot, dry fire season in providing rapid response and keeping fires as small as possible," said Tom Murphy, fire management officer for the BLM�s Medford District. Although Gov. John Kitzhaber declared a state of emergency, allowing National Guard troops to be called up for firefighting duty, none have yet been summoned in Jackson County. When called, members of the guard would be trained in a five-day course offered by the ODF at a camp near Astoria. As the battle against the lightning-caused fires continued Thursday evening, some 250 firefighters were mopping up the 420-acre Antioch Road fire in the Sams Valley area. Quick action by firefighters, including local fire districts as well as state and federal agencies, was credited with saving several dwellings in the area. "They did a fantastic job," said local resident Jeanette Rundley. She and her husband, Steve, had packed their car with belongings as the fire approached. "We�ve been married 28 years and we couldn�t get everything we wanted to save into the car," she said. "But they stopped the fire from taking our home. They did a great job. We�re so thankful for them." The fire was contained by fire line Thursday but control wasn�t expected until today. A fire is controlled when it is basically out or when there is no threat of escape. That fire, believed to have been started by a motorhome fire Tuesday afternoon, burned one home and cost about $300,000 to fight, officials said. Although thunderstorm activity has subsided, the National Weather Service office at the Medford airport calls for hot, dry weather through Tuesday. Firefighters will continue to watch for snags still smoldering from a lightning strike. Called sleepers, the snags can burst into flames several days after a storm. "We�ve have a little rain scattered here and there but not enough to really help much," Rose said. The long-range weather forecast for the region � August through October � calls for hotter and drier than normal, Rose said. "This could be with us for a while," he warned. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA