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Fire reaches 2,000 acres Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming A Forest Service air tanker drops retardant Friday on a ridge between Quartz and Lick gulches Friday high in the Little Applegate drainage, where a 2,000-acre fire burned through timberland, heavy brush and dry grass. No homes were threatened. No homes threatened by remote, lightning-caused blaze By PAUL FATTIG LITTLE APPLEGATE - Kris Hoien didn't expect to sleep much Friday night. With nothing but trees and brush between her Spirit Gardens farm and the 2,000-acre Quartz Fire, she wasn't about to let her guard down. "If the wind changes, we could be the next ones threatened," she said late Friday afternoon from her 40-acre farm bordering Yale Creek. "It's right over the ridge from us," she added. "We're running as much water as we can now to keep everything damp." The Quartz Fire, burning in the Yale Creek area about 12 miles from the Ashland watershed, reached 2,000 acres by 9 p.m. Friday but had not threatened any homes, officials said. The fire on the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management was the largest of a half-dozen fires sparked by a dry lightning storm Thursday evening high in the Little Applegate River drainage. The other five fires, all 15 acres or less, were in the Rogue River National Forest. Those fires were contained by fire lines Friday evening, according to Ed Reilly, spokesman for the Applegate Ranger District. Firefighters will continue to mop up those high-elevation fires, Reilly said. The Quartz Fire, which sent a smoky plume over the Rogue Valley, is about 15 air miles south of Medford. The fire was moving southeast late Friday night, burning timberland. Four crews were schedule to monitor it and build fire lines along the flanks through the night. Attacking the flames overnight wasn't possible, an Oregon Department of Forestry spokeswoman said. The fire was burning too hot. Two air tankers carrying loads of fire retardant bombed the fire throughout the day Friday. Two helicopters armed with large buckets dipped water from a pond on the Spirit Gardens farm to douse the fire some two miles to the east. The aircraft will pick up the fight again this morning, along with 15 water-hauling trucks, 25 engines, eight bulldozers and 16 crews of 20 firefighters. One bulldozer and two 10-person fire crews were already on the fire Friday afternoon with more en route, said Dennis Turco, a seasoned firefighter with the Oregon Department of Forestry. The fire is burning on a remote ridge between Quartz and Lick gulches. "Burning on the gulch is in our favor," Turco said. "The wind has been pushing it along the ridgeline, uphill to the southeast." Any change in wind direction or fire behavior would bring firefighters in defense of the homes, he said. The fire is burning in dry grass, heavy brush and timberlands. Ash fallout from the fire was reported as far away as the Coleman Creek drainage some eight miles northeast. Firefighters are being hampered by drought conditions, including high temperatures, low humidity and afternoon winds, Turco said. "It's fairly steep terrain," Turco said. "We can get bulldozers into some of the area but not everywhere. It's going to take a lot of work on the part of hand crews." No injuries were reported by late Friday. "This is starting to feel like an old-fashioned Southern Oregon fire," Turco said, referring to fires that sometimes flare up during dry periods. Given the extreme fire conditions, officials urge all rural residents throughout Southern Oregon to keep escape routes in mind should a fire threaten. However, if they plan to go to areas other than established evacuation points, they should leave a note on the door to let fire officials know how to contact them, officials said. Pets and other animals should also be gathered and placed in a safe area in the event of an evacuation. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune reporter Sarah Lemon contributed to this report. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.