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SUNNY Temp: 49 °F Wind: N at 0 mph Monday, November 25, 2002 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 July 16, 2002 Ex-firefighter learned from 1994 fire Ron Baker uses every method he’s learned to keep the risk down on his Ramsey Road land By SANNE SPECHT for the Mail Tribune Ron Baker’s 18 acres at the apex of Ramsey Road look like a little piece of paradise. Hummingbirds lazily sip nectar at his many feeders while five deer nestle in the clipped green grass of his back yard. Amid this tranquillity, the afternoon breeze fills the senses with the scent of something dangerous. Baker’s mountaintop idyll is surrounded in a smoky haze. It is an ominous reminder that the Neil Rock fire is lined but not yet contained. About 200 acres are still burning just over the next ridge. Baker says he understands fire danger. He was raised in fire country and drove fire-fighting bulldozers for the California Department of Forestry for six years. But Baker says he didn’t have too much time to prepare the first time fire came to visit him at home. He had been on his property for only seven weeks when the 1994 Hull Mountain fire burned onto his land. Baker had spent the previous weeks clearing brush from around his home but said the property was not yet prepared for serious fire danger. Baker says he remembers the fire burning for nearly a week. When the fire came too close, his family evacuated with its pets and personal belongings. Baker stayed to fight. He considers himself lucky the fire only took one of his outbuildings. After it left, Baker says he spent months removing 150 burned stumps from his property. Now Baker is better prepared. He keeps everything mowed and green around his buildings. He keeps his metal roofs clear of debris and trims "laddering" branches off nearby trees. "If fire has no way to get off the ground, then you can fight. Once it’s up in the trees, you can’t really fight it," says Baker. Baker also has his own defense system, including scanners set to proper frequencies, 10,000 gallons of stored water with a high-pressure pump and hoses, a 250-gallon portable fire trailer and a yard full of bulldozers. Baker also invites the Oregon Department of Forestry out every spring to see if there are other preventive measures he can take. "They’ll come out. All you have to do is ask them," says Baker. Mary Kinsman and her son Jacob live at the corner of Evans Creek and Meadows Road. They are a bit farther from the Sams Valley fire danger this time. However, Kinsman says she’s keeping a close eye on the sky and an ear to her scanner. Kinsman remembers the Hull Mountain fire clearly. Her land was a staging area for firefighters. "We had helicopters in my pasture across the road," says Kinsman. "I felt pretty safe, but we still put all our animals into the pasture because it was so green at that time." Kinsman has cleared a fire trail around her home and also owns a tanker truck and other clearing equipment. Both Baker and Kinsman enjoy the peace and privacy their rural homes provide. They say fire danger is a price they are willing to pay, but they do what they can to mitigate that danger every year. "Keep your place up. Keep your brush down," says Kinsman. Baker agrees and urges his neighbors to take the necessary steps to keep their homes safe, especially during fire season. "Fires are the worst and most likely thing that can happen," says Baker. "But I see people with brush right up to their houses and dead limbs hanging over their roofs. Fires don’t scare me, but you do have to prepare for them." Sanne Specht is a free-lance writer living in Rogue River. Reach her at [email protected]. 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 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S