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Lightning fires dot valley They�re no danger, but new storm could spawn more By Joanna Collins An early morning thunderstorm wreaked havoc in the Rogue Valley Wednesday, though its brief rains provided no relief to the region�s extreme fire danger. Lightning started at least 15 small blazes in Josephine County and two more in Jackson County, according to Department of Forestry officials. Lightning also knocked out power in parts of Medford and contributed to at least one auto accident. Fire officials said crews Wednesday had a line around the 420-acre Antioch Road fire, north of Sams Valley, and expect containment later today. Anticipating more fires in the dry hills and forests of Southern Oregon, local fire agencies have created a "contingency task force" to respond to forest fires. Wednesday�s lightning fires, most of which were less than an acre, were extinguished or under control by early evening. According to ODF, crews extinguished small blazes near Star Gulch in the Applegate Valley and another near Prospect. None of the Josephine County fires were more than two acres � and were either extinguished or completely under control � as of Wednesday afternoon. But fire officials are still nervous about the thunderstorms expected today and the continuing dry � although cooler � conditions. High temperatures, which peaked at 100 Monday and Tuesday, are expected to hover around 90 through the week. "With the national situation and our extreme fire danger here it wouldn�t take much to start more fires," said BLM Fire Management Officer Tom Murphy. Many Rogue Valley residents woke to steady rumbling when Wednesday�s unusual morning thunderstorm rolled through the region. The Medford airport recorded 0.07 inches from the sporadic showers. Lightning reportedly hit a vehicle on Interstate 5 near Central Point. Officials from Fire District 3, however, said the vehicle was gone when emergency crews arrived. More than 1,100 people lost power at 9:40 a.m. when lightning struck a transformer on Hilton Road near the north Medford interchange. Power was restored by noon, according to Monte Mendenhall, regional community manager for Pacific Corp. Layers of clouds from the storm prevented tankers and helicopters from reaching the Antioch Road fire that destroyed a home Tuesday afternoon and briefly threatened other residences and ranches in the area near the disastrous 1994 Hull Mountain fire. Despite the lack of morning air support, Murphy said, Wednesday turned out to be a fairly quiet day for the hard-working firefighters. "It was fortunate that (the storm) didn�t move over us later in the day," said Murphy. Crews had the Antioch blaze completely surrounded at 1 a.m. Wednesday, and hoped to fully contain it by tonight, he said. The cause of the fire, which started near or at a motor home next to a residence, is still under investigation. The owners were apparently away at the time. Murphy said a Southern Oregon "contingency task force" has been created to handle fires like those started by Wednesday morning�s lightning storm. "Our goal is to keep them as small as we can," he said. In Siskiyou County in Northern California, 18 small fires started by a storm Monday were also quelled as of Wednesday, according to Penny Melum, a spokeswoman for the Klamath National Forest. The largest fire reached 5 to 6 acres. "Everything�s contained, controlled or out," she said. Despite the string of Southern Oregon fires touched off by lightning, Murphy reminded the public that not all blazes are ignited by Mother Nature. "With the conditions we�re in, any activity that causes a spark is a potential fire starter," he said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA