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Here is the California side of the fires in the SW Oregon and NW California area from the Eureka Standard:

Article Last Updated:
Thursday, August 01, 2002 -

Gasquet area fires grow, residents watch and wait
By John Driscoll The Times-Standard

GASQUET -- Residents of Gasquet and Hiouchi are holding tight as a giant border-straddling fire rages unchecked only miles from the tiny towns northeast of Crescent City.

The Sour Biscuit Fire, as it is now officially called, has grown since it jumped the Oregon border into California over the weekend. On the California side of the border the fire has sprung from 16,000 acres Tuesday to about 20,000 acres, and the fire as a whole has swelled to 33,000 acres.

"We're assessing the fire today and we're saying that there's not a current, immediate threat to the community of Gasquet," said Northern Rockies Incident Management Team spokeswoman Terry Knupp. The team is made up of a slew of agencies called in to handle coordination of large contingents of firefighters.

Knupp said she believes the fire is growing mostly in the northeast portion of the blaze, in an area called Holiday Mine, around High Dome. Nine hand crews, 96 personnel and two helicopters are fighting that fire.

The Sour Biscuit Fire has also come within about a half-mile of Simpson Timber Co. land. The company has carved a fire line on the border of its land to protect timber.

Another fire burning along U.S. Highway 199 has grown to 700 acres and has kept the highway -- which is acting as a fire line -- closed. The smaller Shelly Fire is currently getting more attention, with 41 engines, 17 hand crews, four bulldozers and five helicopters involved for a total of 879 people assigned to the fire.

The fire and another to the north called the Florence Fire that doubled in size to 145,000 acres Tuesday have sent ash and smoke far south into Humboldt County, giving the sunrise over the coastal hills around Humboldt Bay an orange pall. Another fire outside of Happy Camp has kept communities along the Klamath and Trinity rivers socked in by smoke.

The Sour Biscuit and Shelly fires have drawn about 1,000 firefighters and organizers to a camp at the Del Norte County High School set up over the past few days. As many as 1,000 more personnel may be arriving soon.

Gasquet and Hiouchi residents are still on 24-hour evacuation alert and were expected to be thoroughly apprised of their situation at a public meeting Wednesday night.

"We're kind of looking forward to that meeting tonight," said Karey Dean, whose husband is pastor of the Gasquet Bible Church on Gasquet Flat Road.

Dean said information has been scarce to date. She said the smoke may have pushed some people to leave the area for relief, but that no one has been forced to leave their homes. Little else has changed, she said, aside from churchgoers perhaps praying more fervently.

A firefighter reached at Gasquet's Wagonwheel Motel and Cafe, closed due to the fire, said the town woke up to an east wind thick with smoke. He said local fire teams have made contact with everyone in Gasquet and have given advice on how to protect their homes. They have also marked water sources in the area, like the 2,100-gallon portable tank he was setting up at the motel.

"Most everyone has their thoughts in order if and when they get the order (to evacuate)," said the firefighter, who requested anonymity.

The smoke and ash that has invaded Humboldt County is likely to stick around for some time, said Leonard Herr of the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District. Herr said the smoke is being trapped in a recirculating air cell over northwestern California.

Satellite photos show streams of smoke from the California-Oregon fires moving to the southwest, into Humboldt County.

"It's not looking real horrible but it's not looking real good," Herr said. "I don't see much of a change anytime soon."

Herr said that people with respiratory problems should use common sense and stay indoors and avoid unnecessary exercise.

The Stanza Fire 10 miles outside of Happy Camp has burned 2,665 acres and is now 60 percent contained. More than 900 people are working to control that fire, sometimes using backfires to burn out fuels ahead of the approaching fire. No structures were threatened by the remote fire as of Wednesday evening.

Here is more from the California Side of the Biscuit fire.

Help arrives to douse county fires

By Kent Gray

Crescent City Triplicate staff writer

Firefighting crews from around the nation descended en masse on Del Norte County yesterday, as the two fires raging in the hills outside Crescent City rose to the number-one firefighting priority in the country.

Evidence of the new status was clear yesterday at Del Norte High School, where exhausted firefighters lounged on the grass and grabbed naps in a sea of tents, bulldozers, trucks and other equipment.

"Our focus is to go to the fire perimeter and see what we can do tactically to stop the fire where it is," said Wally Bennett of the U.S. Forest Service. Bennett was given command of the firefighting efforts last night and heads the Northern Rockies National Incident Command Team from Montana.

"The direction I got was to focus our efforts on the Biscuit-Fire Zone II, which is what we are calling it now, on the California side and the Shelley Creek Fire," Bennett said yesterday, as he marshaled the effort from the bustling high school command center.

Bennett said a combination of fire breaks and a direct assault on the two fires is being implemented. Nine hand crews with two helicopters and six more ordered have been assigned to the Biscuit Fire. The Shelley Creek Fire has 41 fire engines, 17 hand crews, four bulldozers and five helicopters assigned, with 879 total in personnel.

An assessment of the fires yesterday showed the Shelley Creek Fire had tripled overnight and now has spread to 700 acres, the Forest Service reported. The larger Sour-Biscuit Fire, now only a few miles from the giant Florence Fire in Oregon, covers more than 33,000 acres.

"The tactics are recommended by the operations chiefs, and I look at it and see where it all fits in with the overall strategy," Bennett said.

"I'm really strong with operations, plans and logistics," Bennett said. "I have a heavy staff – I brought 57 people with me. Generally, we have more folks and we can move quicker in our operations."

Bennett, who just arrived from fighting a fire in Colorado for 18 days, said every fire presents its own challenges. In Del Norte County it's the weather.

"That's different," Bennett said about the often cool and humid ocean breezes. "The problem we're having here is with our aviation operations. There is a very narrow window of opportunity to view the fire. In the morning there is fog. Shortly after that (is gone), the smoke moves in."

But the coastal breeze is a blessing too, Bennett said, because it is helping protect the Low Divide Road area, a rural mountainous area near the Oregon border. "It's helping. Right now there doesn't appear to be a real threat on the west side of the Biscuit Fire to the residents," he said.

A fire break was cut above Low Divide Road along a line that is generally just inside the Smith River National Recreational Area boundary. Bulldozers from Simpson Timber Company accomplished the task. Bennett said this would be one "anchor" from which to attack the fires. He said this secondary line was still a good distance from the fire perimeter.

"From a safety standpoint, we want a good solid anchor that is safe and then start flanking the fire. This will involve water work with helicopters and fire retardant at times," he said.

Bennett said his team is assessing the best vantage points on the other fronts, but that effort is hampered by the poor visibility.

"It is very smokey on the east side. And it's not a very clean burn – very spotty – so it's difficult to get a handle on where to start," he said.

Linda Szczepanik, incident commander of the Northern California Team, has been conducting aerial reconnaissance for the firefighting effort. Szczepanik is also coordinating the immediate operation against the Shelley Creek Fire, burning along Highway 199 near Patrick Creek Lodge.

"Linda will run by us what they have planned," Bennett said of the Shelley Creek operation. "She will run it by us to make sure we are on the same page. So far they've done everything the same as we would do.

Incident commander Paul Broyles from Idaho has set up a base camp south of Cave Junction and is coordinating Oregon operations with Bennett, he said yesterday.