Document text
'We can see the end' Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Rick Graves, left, of Medford, and David Hammer, of Beaverton, take pick, shovel and hose to the Quartz Fire Wednesday afternoon. The two are inmates from the Sutter Creek Crew in North Bend/Coos Bay. Officials hope to have the 5,600-acre blaze under control by Sept. 1. Quartz Fire expected to burn 22,000 acres before it's done By DAMIAN MANN LITTLE APPLEGATE - Firefighters expect to have a handle on the 5,600-acre Quartz Fire in about two days, but they don't believe it will be under control until Sept. 1. By the time it's done, the fire is expected to have burned 22,000 acres, according to fire officials at the Oregon Department of Forestry. Bill Lafferty, planning section chief for the ODF, said earlier estimates that the fire would be controlled by Aug. 20 "were truly optimistic." Wildfires around the West Arizona: The Agua Caliente fire was burning 230 acres and was 40 percent contained. California: Eight major fires were burning 126,609 acres. The largest was Observation at 66,500 acres with 90 percent containment. This fire is east of Ravendale. Colorado: No major fires Idaho: Six large fires burned on 13,725 acres. The Sublett Reservoir fire near Malta was 6,000 acres and 70 percent contained. Montana: Two fires burned on 520 acres. Nevada: Seven major fires, totaling 109,780 acres. Three were contained. Buffalo Complex was 30,000 acres at 10 percent containment. The fire is near Midas and includes the Buffalo and Hot Lake fires. The Clear Creek Complex at 39,300 acres was 15 percent contained. It is south of Winnemucca. New Mexico: No major fires Oregon: Nine major fires were burning on 110,000 acres. The biggest threat was the Quartz fire, burning uncontained on 5,500 acres southwest of Medford. The Monument Complex, three miles north of the Central Oregon town of Monument, had burned about 6,000 acres. Utah: No major fires. Washington: Six major fires burning on 22,650 acres. The Virginia Lake fire, 12 miles south of Okanagan, was 17,300 acres and 30 percent contained. Wyoming: The Falcon fire, on the Bridger-Teton National Forest 48 miles northeast of Jackson, was burning 275 acres with 20 percent containment. Sources: National Interagency Fire Center, Northwest Coordination Center, Central Nevada Interagency Dispatch Center and Teton Fires Interagency Fire Information Center. - The Associated Press High temperatures, low humidity and rough terrain have hampered firefighters' efforts throughout the week-old blaze, which started Aug. 9 from a lightning strike. "We're getting to the point where we can see the end," said Lafferty. "In the next couple of days, we will get around it." This means firefighters will have narrowed the blaze enough to surround it and attack it head-on. In a maneuver known as "flank and pinch," crews work on the sides of the fire, narrowing and hemming it in, driving it to a point where it will finally run out of fuel. They try not to attack the path of advancing flames because it is too dangerous. "This is tough," said Lafferty. "We are fighting something that is bigger than we are and not safe." Two firefighters suffered heat exhaustion Tuesday, with one going to the hospital. A third firefighter also went to the hospital suffering from a back injury. A fourth received scalds on the ankle at fire camp. So far, firefighters have averted any major eastward advance of the flames, which would endanger the Ashland watershed. They also have steered it away from most of the nine dwellings that were threatened in the Dog Fork area, though two homes did burn down. "We're working for the landowners," he said. "We're very aware of what's out there and what needs to be saved." Fire crews are establishing a 15-mile firebreak by enhancing natural boundaries such as the Little Applegate River that would prevent the flames' advancement. Though Lafferty and his crew feel better about their efforts to rein in the fire, he said trouble is always lurking. "Time is your enemy because the weather will change," he said. Lower temperatures and the general lack of strong winds aided firefighters Wednesday, but a low-pressure front expected to pass through on Friday could bring some winds, Lafferty said. Fire crews also have been on the lookout for fires that could have started from embers. Two spot fires near Glade Creek were fully contained by midafternoon Tuesday. A separate fire caused by another lightning strike scorched 33 acres in the Cinnabar Glade, just a few miles from the Ashland watershed. Fire crews have established a perimeter around the area. As of Wednesday, firefighters had contained only 20 percent of the perimeter of the Quartz Fire, said Lafferty. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.