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Firefighters fear JoCo vehicle fires could spark wildfires By Nick Morgan Jun 09, 2022 12:15 AM A A A Chrysler PT Cruiser was set ablaze May 29 near the railroad tracks west of Sunny Valley. Rural Metro Fire had to halt traffic on the tracks and held the fire to a 100th of an acre. [Photo courtesy of Rural Metro Fire] Somebody torched an abandoned vehicle in Josephine County Aug. 9, 2021, causing a half-acre wildfire. [Photo courtesy of Rural Metro Fire] Rural Metro Fire has responded to more than a dozen fires involving abandoned vehicles in recent months, and two of them spread to nearby wildlands When a burning vehicle sparked a blaze on nearby wildlands and temporarily halted railroad traffic the evening of May 29, it wasn’t exactly news for members of Rural Metro Fire. “Another abandoned vehicle was found fully involved this evening in rural Josephine County,” Rural Metro Fire of Josephine County wrote in an official Facebook post about the incident. “This one was near the railroad tracks along Lower Graves Creek Road west of Sunny Valley.” The fire near the unincorporated community of Leland was one of more than a dozen fires set to abandoned vehicles that Rural Metro Fire has been called out to over the past 12 months, according to Austin Prince, division chief of operations for Rural Metro. Prince said the fires, which generally erupt under the cover of darkness — are one of his biggest concerns, especially with the 2022 fire season underway. The May 29 fire spread to nearby brush and required firefighters to unroll fire hose across railroad tracks to reach the burning wreckage. Rural Metro and Oregon Department of Forestry firefighters kept the brush fire down to a 100th of an acre. It was far from the only intentionally set vehicle fire over the past year that spread to nearby wildlands. An Aug. 9 fire involving an abandoned motorhome on Hayes Hill near Wonder caused a wildfire that spread to half an acre, and a July 2 blaze engulfing a discarded vehicle in the 4200 block of Granite Hill Road sparked a quarter-acre grass fire. The fires typically involve vehicles stripped of identifying information such as license plates or vehicle identification number tags. Prince speculates the vehicles’ lack of value and costs of proper disposal may be contributing factors. Rural Metro Fire is unable to do anything to address the nuisance of abandoned vehicles until one of them is in flames. “There seems to be a reason behind it,” Prince said. “It’s just a problem.” Rural Metro crews have responded to as many as three abandoned vehicle fires in a single night, as occurred Feb. 11. Two of those fires were set in motorhomes on Stringer Gap Road shortly after midnight. Prince referred to two RV fires as “only a matter of time.” The suspicious fires do not appear to be impacting rural Jackson County residents. When reached by phone, Jackson County Fire District No. 5 Chief Charles Hanley said they are “not currently” seeing any sort of rise in suspiciously caused abandoned vehicle fires. A phone message left with Jackson County Fire District 3 and an email to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office were not immediately returned. Reach web editor Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MTwebeditor.