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CLEAR Temp: 70 °F Wind: SSW at 3 mph Saturday, August 30, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection 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 Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend July 13, 2003 Fire danger: In a word, it’s ‘bad’ By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Jeff Schwanke has one word to describe this summer’s wildfire threat. "Bad," concluded the district forester for the Oregon Department of Forestry in southwestern Oregon. After 35 years of fighting wildfires in Oregon, including the last eight in Jackson and Josephine counties, Schwanke knows of what he speaks. He already has seen evidence of potential problems. Consider this: About 40 acres burned near Merlin in May, a wildfire destroyed a home near Cave Junction last month and a blaze near Williams early last week burned some 300 acres and threatened several homes. Advertisement "We’re seeing fires getting bigger earlier this year than we did at this time last year," he said. "We’re about four weeks ahead of a ‘normal’ summer." No rain has fallen in much of the region since early May, noted Schwanke, whose department protects U.S. Bureau of Land Management, state, county and private wildlands. Although the rainfall is now above average, thanks to a heavy spring rain, not much fell early in the year and the mountain snowpack was well below average, Schwanke said. "It’s deceptive in that it looks like we got a good rainfall," he said. "But it really didn’t buy us much with the larger fuels. It wasn’t timed right." As a result, the fire danger is already as high as this time last year, he said. "In another couple of weeks, all that grass we have now will be cured out and we’ll be way ahead of where we were a year ago as far as fire danger," he said. "It doesn’t look like a good fire season. There is a lot of opportunity for a bad one." The district completed training its usual complement of 100 seasonal firefighters on Friday, making them available to battle a blaze. However, the department is still waiting for the Legislature to adopt a state budget. Because of budget constraints, the district has no helicopter contract this season, Schwanke said. A private helicopter with a water bucket is currently based at the ODF district headquarters in Central Point but isn’t under contract, he said. "We’re not paying for it unless we use it," Schwanke said. "Of course, if they get a call about a fire elsewhere, they may take off." Over in the Rogue River and Siskiyou national forests, the U.S. Forest Service has requested more funding to beef up its fire crews, according to spokeswoman Mary Marrs. "We’re asking for more money now for additional fire crews and staffing, including air attack and additional engines," she said, noting the request is in preparation for a potentially active fire season. The amount of additional funding requested was not available Friday. The two forests currently have 25 fire crew members, nine engines with 19 members, seven prevention patrols, a river fire patrol and five lookout personnel on staff, Marrs said. No air tanker is currently assigned to the Medford tanker base, which is now operating as a reload base. But a tanker would be called in from Klamath Falls or Redmond if needed for a fire, she said. Most agencies keep their fire staffs and equipment close at hand because of the growing fire danger, officials said. Schwanke cited the work by local rural fire districts in conjunction with the ODF, particularly when it comes to protecting homes. He also noted that many rural homeowners have pitched in to reduce the threat by cutting grass and thinning the forest and brushlands near their homes. "The fires we had last year really brought people’s awareness up," he said. "They’re doing a lot of things on their own now to reduce the threat around their homes." But they still need to be exceedingly careful this summer, he said. "We have to do whatever we can this year to eliminate all possible causes that we can," he said. With trees as dry as they were last year, coupled with more grass to provide ladder fuel in many areas, the potential for a bad fire season looms, he reiterated. "We have the potential for a just-as-bad-if-not-worse fire season than last year," he said. 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