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M/SUNNY Temp: 68 °F Wind: N at 3 mph Friday, May 2, 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 November 2, 2002 A firefighter drags a hose to a smoldering fence at a grass fire that burned on Friday near Ashland�s railroad district. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Wildfire alert Two in Ashland, one along I-5 and several others keep fire crews busy By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Cold, dry weather, gusty winds and a flurry of fires around the area have prompted the Oregon Department of Forestry to issue a wildfire alert. Firefighters quelled two fires Friday in Ashland, a grassfire along Interstate 5 near Central Point, and several blazes started by abandoned campfires in the surrounding area. Freezing temperatures have drawn moisture out of drier-than-normal vegetation. Low humidity and strong east winds have boosted the potential for fires to start easily and spread quickly, said Dennis Turco, fire prevention specialist with the department. The forecast for the next six to 10 days calls for these conditions to continue, he said. Typically fire season ends in mid-October, but in light of the current conditions, fire officials sent out the alert. They are concerned about public safety, possible property damage and further timber losses, he said. A quick response by firefighters from Ashland, Medford Fire District 5 and the Oregon Department of Forestry prevented a grass fire that blazed through Ashland’s railroad district Friday morning from damaging buildings. About 6 acres burned. The fire, which burned in fields along the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad tracks, was reported at 9:40 a.m. and triggered three alarms by 10:10 a.m. It sent thick, brown smoke and embers toward the A Street Market, Ashland Lumber and other businesses on A, Oak and Hersey streets. Oak Street was closed during the fire and traffic was disrupted throughout the area. Investigators said the fire apparently started at a transient campsite. Homeless people frequently camp in the field, where timbers, grass and other refuse has been dumped over the years, said Ashland Fire Chief Keith Woodley. Kirk Tierney, who lives in the field, saw the smoke and rushed to the railroad area to save his belongings. "I came running to gather my stuff," Tierney said. "This is my entire home." The fire burned within 50 yards of his camp. "It was raging pretty hard and I prayed for it to sit down," he said. "It’s amazing how prayer can work." Just across the railroad tracks at Ashland Lumber along Oak Street, employees hustled to move lumber and equipment away from the south-facing fences as the wind whipped ashes and burning embers into the lumberyard. "It’s an old building and it’s just a matter of keeping an eye on things for a while," Ashland Lumber Assistant Manager Rod Radford said, rubbing smoke-filled eyes. "We just moved the lumber away from the fences." Along I-5 near the Central Point interchange, a grassfire burned about half an acre Friday morning, Turco said. Department of forestry and Medford Fire Department crews extinguished the fire, which was reported at 10:22 a.m. Farther afield, Oregon Department of Forestry crews put out a blaze started by an abandoned campfire in the Johnson Prairie area 21 miles east of Ashland. The fire was reported just before 11 a.m. and was contained at 1:20 p.m. It was stopped at less than an acre, although crews remained at the scene to watch hot spots. Forestry crews with the help of firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service, Rural Metro Fire Department, and private contractors reined in a fire four miles northeast of Grants Pass Friday morning. Known as the Granite Hill fire, the blaze was reported at 7:45 a.m. and contained at about 11:15 a.m. It burned about three acres, but didn’t threaten any homes. Initially crews had to walk in to battle the fire, but bulldozers soon cleared a passage. Investigators said an abandoned campfire sparked the fire. Friday afternoon a faller removed hazardous snags around the Granite Hill fire’s perimeter. Crews also continued to tend hot spots. Forestry crews, with the help of contractors, contained the Right Fork Foots Creek fire at 5 p.m. Thursday. Investigators continue to seek the cause of the fire, which burned about 25 acres five miles south of Rogue River, Turco said. Meanwhile, Fire District 1 in Rogue River responded to a fire at 9:24 Thursday night, at a mobile home at 3504 N. River Road. The home was engulfed by flames when crew arrived and was destroyed, said District 1 Capt. Tim Clark. Evans Valley Fire Department also helped. He said he didn’t know the residents’ names, but everyone escaped safely. The Red Cross assisted the residents. The fire spread into grass near the home, but firefighters quickly contained it before it reached a wooded hillside behind the structure, Clark said. Myles Murphy and Sean Wolfe of the Ashland Daily Tidings contributed to this report. Brush removal saved neighbor’s house ASHLAND — Mark Tietz was not surprised his neighbor’s compost pile caught on fire Friday . The pile, which sits in a draw between houses on Herbert Street, on the edge of the Ashland watershed, seemed to have spontaneously combusted, according to neighbors who called it in. Tietz, who lives uphill from the compost pile, said he reported it to the city parks department three times, before taking matters into his own hands. "My house would have burned down this afternoon if I hadn’t paid out of my pocket to clear the city park," he said. He said he spent $1,000 hiring a crew to help him clear brush, and just in time. "We finished yesterday," he said. David Hard, assistant chief and fire marshal with Ashland Fire and Rescue, said it was Tietz’s brush removal that helped fire crews keep the fire to 1¼ acre. "It’s a compost pile that probably is not a legal compost pile that started the fire," he said. He said the pile contained illegal things like lumber and sawdust, and it was questionable which side of the city parks boundary line it was on. U.S. Forest Service and Jackson County Fire District #5 also responded to the two-alarm fire, he said. Hard said because this was an unusually dry November, such fires could spread quickly. "Wind is our enemy. Low humidity and wind," he said. Hard said there would be an investigation of the contents of the pile. 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