Posted on 08/07/2002 7:19:38 AM PDT by Grampa Dave
Agness residents receive evacuation warning
By JEFF BARNARD The Associated Press 8/7/02 2:01 AM
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- The Curry County sheriff on Tuesday warned residents of more than 220 homes around the white-water rafting community of Agness to be ready to evacuate in case the Florence Fire moves closer.
Firefighters and deputies began going house to house through the settlements of Agness, Illahe, and Oak Flat, located at the confluence of the Rogue and Illinois rivers within three to six miles of the northern flank of the Florence Fire.
"If we come talk to you a second time, it's time to go," said fire spokeswoman Susan Mathison. "We don't want you to decide then what to take. We'd like you to be doing that now."
The advisory did not affect whitewater rafting along the wild and scenic section of the Rogue River, or jetboat tours from Gold Beach, said Mathison.
The Florence and nearby Sour Biscuit fires have burned more than 284,000 acres on the Siskiyou National Forest in southwestern Oregon since being ignited by lighting July 13. Florence is 10 percent contained and Sour Biscuit 15 percent.
The advisory from Sheriff Kent Owens was prompted by the arrival of hotter and drier weather and shifting winds that could push the fire closer to the scattered homes.
The threat on the eastern front of the fire to the 17,000 residents of the Illinois Valley diminished as crews burned out the last few miles of the southern end of a 40-mile containment line protecting O'Brien, Cave Junction, Kerby and Selma.
The U.S. Forest Service escorted some of the owners of nine cabins inside the perimeter of the Florence Fire to view damage caused by the flames.
Four homes and eight outbuildings along the Illinois River west of Selma, including the McCaleb Ranch Boy Scout Camp, were reported burned when the fire erupted more than a week ago.
Property owners had to don fireproof Nomex clothing, hard hats, and high leather boots and carry fire shelters because the cabins are inside the danger zone, said Forest Service spokesman Mike Ferris.
Other residents and businesses tried to get back to life as normal. Rough & Ready Lumber Co. in O'Brien has resumed operations on one of its two mills, shut down last week to give employees a chance to pack up belongings against a possible evacuation, said John Krauss, whose family owns the mill.
In all, seven major fires were burning on 508,500 acres across Oregon. The biggest, the Florence and Sour Biscuit fires, covered a combined 284,000 acres in southwestern Oregon and Northern California, and remained the top priority in the nation for scarce resources.
Fire behavior analyst Erik Christiansen said warmer and drier air allowed crews to resume burning out brush and trees along the last few miles on the southern end of the 40-mile containment line on the east side of the Florence Fire. He hoped to have the line burned out to the California border by late Tuesday.
"We're slowly closing her off," said Christiansen.
In the community of Agness, just six miles from the northern edge of the fire, Claudia Shields said it was business as usual -- but smoky -- at the Cougar Lane Store, where rafters regularly stop for gas and ice cream after completing their wilderness float down the Rogue River Canyon.
"We're still hanging in here," she said. "We just live day by day and see what's going to happen. You can't do much."
Like other people, she has packed up photo albums and other irreplaceable items and hauled them 30 miles to Gold Beach for safe storage.
Personnel fighting the western and northern flanks of the Florence Fire nearly doubled to 2,400, with Hot Shots, bulldozers and regular fire crews concentrating on lines to protect Agness, the Chetco River community of Wilderness Retreat east of Brookings, and Galice on the Rogue River.
Fire commanders are worried that a return to explosive Fire conditions after a spell of cool and humid weather could drive the Florence Fire down the Chetco River to the coast and over the ridgetops to Agness and Galice.
Lane County Sheriff's deputies and Oregon State Police went door-to-door to about 40 homes in the Hemlock neighborhood of Westfir southeast of Eugene Tuesday afternoon warning residents to be prepared to evacuate on one-to-two-hour's notice because of a new 20-acre fire on the Willamette National Forest.
Firefighters appeared to have the upper hand on the blaze Tuesday night but the evacuation warning was left in effect overnight.
The Bonneville Power Administration shut off power in the area for several hours for firefighter safety. Westfir and Oakridge, with a combined population of about 3,500, were affected.
Other fires burning in Oregon included:
-- Flagtail-Malheur Complex, 19,367 acres, outside Prairie City, 100 percent contained.
-- Tiller Complex, 31,960 acres, Umpqua National Forest near Tiller, 25 percent contained.
-- Monument Fire, 24,378 acres, outside Unity, 90 percent contained.
-- Tool Box Complex, 120,085 acres, outside Silver Lake, 100 percent contained.
-- Timbered Rock Fire, 27,090, outside Shady Cove, 90 percent contained.
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EBUCK
EBUCK
They claim the new policy is good for the moose population. Tell it to those caught in the fire...
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