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Thanks, Tubebender for letting me know that this new story on the California Fires just south of the Illinois River Valley, Oregon:

Eureka Times-Standard
Firefighters battle unwieldy Del Norte fires
By John Driscoll The Times-Standard

Friday, August 02, 2002 -

GASQUET -- The effort to battle two fires only a few miles from here continues to grow, but a big, restless wildfire has kept about 30 evacuated families from getting back to their homes.

Burning debris and rocks on the roadway has kept U.S. Highway 199 closed to all but some locals, though complete closures have been in effect at times.

The size of the fires burning in the Smith River National Recreation Area remains the same as was reported Thursday, but authorities are only now getting their first glimpses of how big the fires are. Unpredictable winds have kept firefighters guessing, but generally the progress of the largest blaze -- called the Sour Biscuit Fire -- has been toward the northeast, away from Gasquet.

"One day it's OK, one day it's not," said Emma Young, a cashier at the Hiouchi Store. "It depends on the wind."

Hundreds of people have stopped to look at maps and fire information set out at the store in the past two days.

Hiouchi, like Gasquet, is on 24-hour evacuation alert. About 30 families who live in the Low Divide area north of Hiouchi were evacuated earlier this week as the Sour Biscuit Fire approached after blowing into California from its origin in Oregon.

The Sour Biscuit Fire is now 33,000 acres, with about 20,000 acres on the California side of the border.

But it is the smaller Shelly Creek Fire, which stands at 700 acres, that is getting the most attention. The fire is being fought by more than one firefighter per acre, and crews burned away vegetation along the highway to halt any advance of the main fire.

From the ground on Fish Hatchery Road Thursday, wielding two walkie-talkies, U.S. Forest Service Division Supervisor Michele Tanzi guided a Coulson Pacific helicopter with a 1,000-gallon water bucket to spots on the fire's front. The pilot doused a single burning tree with pinpoint accuracy, snuffing a blaze that could have send embers flying to another area, before returning to dip the bucket into the Smith River.

Within 10 minutes at the site, the wind could be felt shifting directions again and again, giving a clear picture of what the fire crews are up against. It's tough flying too, with low-lying smoke keeping an aerial assault on the blaze timid.

"It's so smoky they can't see each other or what they're dropping on," said Forest Service Battalion Chief Syndy Heidt.

A plethora of agencies has set up a base at the Del Norte County High School. The force of more than 1,000 camped there is expected to grow over the next few days.

New crews from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, the California Department of Forestry and other agencies were getting outfitted at the camp Thursday. After getting clothed, they picked up lunches that weigh about 6 pounds each. California Conservation Corps crews doled out huge quantities of water and food at lunchtime, while later, cooks grilled and baked massive amounts of high-calorie comfort food like chicken breast and apple crisp.

There were lots of people about, but resources are slim.

"Well, we could be working on it all summer," said Six Rivers National Forest Supervisor Lou Woltering.

The threat of more wildfires on Six Rivers this summer is not lost on Woltering, who said teams that handle big wildfires are in short supply during this busy fire season. Storms are expected to move up the Sacramento River Valley later this week, and with them could come lightning. Woltering said crews at the Six Rivers ranger districts would respond to new fires, but larger forces often needed to snuff them are scattered around the west.

"We're scrambling," Woltering said.

Indeed, the Forest Service allowed the fires that have become the Sour Biscuit Fire to burn after lightning sparked them on July 13 or 14 in Oregon. On July 27, the fire burned into California. On the following day it made a run that burned 5,000 acres in California, but pilots couldn't see the fire because of the intense smoke from it and another fire to the north now burning more than 150,000 acres.

That fire, called the Florence Fire, and the Sour Biscuit Fire are only about a mile from merging into an even larger fire.

"It's the first fire I've seen like this in the 34 years I've been here," said 50-year-old Jim Schlotter, a student living in an area near Hiouchi.

The smaller Shelly Fire is about 50 percent contained, and is expected to be under control by Saturday. Highway 199 should also be open then. Forest Service Branch Director Kent Swartzlander said that winter months are likely to take their toll on the already landslide-prone cliffs above the highway into Oregon.

The Patrick Creek Lodge past Gasquet toward the northeast was only days ago looking like it would be burned to the ground by the Shelly Fire. It's situation somewhat less tenuous now, the lodge's owners have begun serving meals and coffee to firefighters coming off fire lines sometimes only a stone's throw away.

"They've been very grateful," said 19-year-old Tami Hanover, a waitress at the lodge. "They're really putting their all into it."

The Sour Biscuit Fire burning outside of Gasquet and Hiouchi is still a wild card, with no containment at all. Like Wednesday night, fire officials will be holding another meeting -- this time in Hiouchi -- to keep residents apprised of the fires' progress.

"People really desire information," said Forest Service spokesman Ken Wilson. "It's pretty understandable. It's their homes, their lives, their families."

This totally burns me, and I don't live in this area.

Did the Clintoonian Pink Panty Wearing Enviralist Florists playing Forestry Service set back and allow this fire to burn as per the Green Agenda, they work 24/7 to serve?