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Air looks smoky, but it won't hurt lungs Despite California fires, valley's air meets standards Staff and wire reports Moderate winds blowing smoke from California wildfires continued to create a white haze in the Rogue Valley Friday, but air quality here did not approach unhealthful levels. While very noticeable, the smoke was not thick enough to push the Rogue Valley's air quality levels past federal safety standards, said Tom Peterson, an environmental engineer for the Department of Environmental Quality. Peterson said in the past few days the particulate level has risen two to three times higher than the rest of the month, most likely because of the smoke from California fires. The Rogue Valley cannot exceed 150 micrograms of particulates per cubic meter of air under federal air-quality rules. On Friday, the particulate level was about 40 micrograms, Peterson said. Meanwhile, more than 20 major wildfires charring brush and timber in five Western states have raced across at least 190,000 acres. Firefighters have carved bare-earth control lines around some of the smaller lightning-sparked fires so they can focus on battling uncontrolled blazes. More than half the fires were in California. Others were in Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Texas. "They've been able to handle the new starts and get a better handle on what they're already fighting. Things are looking better today," said Janelle Smith of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Wildfires temporarily chased hundreds of residents from their homes in California and Nevada early this week but have burned few homes. There were no mandatory evacuations in effect Friday. More than 10,000 firefighters equipped with at least 700 fire engines battled Western wildfires Friday, assisted by scores of helicopters and air tankers. Several of the fires were sparked by lightning, and some have been burning since last weekend. Gov. Gray Davis has declared fire emergencies in four Northern California counties, allowing them to recoup firefighting costs. He also ordered the California National Guard to help firefighters. Fires have burned tens of thousands of acres of grass, brush and timber in Tehama, Glenn, Butte, Shasta, Lassen and Modoc counties, and in the Shasta-Trinity, Lassen, Klamath, Plumas, Modoc, Stanislaus and Angeles national forests. One fire claimed the life of a Butte County woman. Oregon firefighters fought a 30,000-acre brush fire in the Sheldon-Hart National Wildlife Refuge, 120 miles southeast of Lakeview. In Nevada, firefighters battled a 7,400-acre grass fire 70 miles northwest of Winnemucca, a cluster of fires totaling 36,000 acres in grass and brush 45 miles north of Reno, and a 2,000 acre-fire near Carson City. Firefighters in Washington state battled a 350-acre blaze on the Colville Indian Reservation, eight miles south of Okanogan. In Texas, firefighters fought a 1,500-acre fire 20 miles northwest of Lampasas and a 580-acre blaze near Paris. The fires across the country have inflamed a longtime controversy over federal forest management. Critics say they have long argued that the U.S. Forest Service should conduct more controlled burns and cutting to clear undergrowth that fuels wildfires, making them so hot they kill large trees that otherwise would likely survive. Years of aggressive firefighting have allowed brush to flourish that would have been cleared away by wildfires, said Michael Paparian, a Sierra Club senior representative in Sacramento, Calif. Dave Bischel, president of the California Forestry Association, which represents the timber industry, said he agrees that the wildfires underscore the need for active forest management. While the timber industry and environmentalists agree the forests need thinning, the timber companies want it to include more logging than the environmental groups want. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA