The latest from the Brookings/Curry Pilot on the fire that has burnt up the Kamiopsis Wilderness and threatens two counties of innocent people in SW Oregon:
FIRE FORCES EVACUATION OF 30 HOMES
Published: August 17, 2002, By Bill Lundquist, Pilot Staff Writer
The Biscuit Fire grew to 405,661 acres by Friday morning, triggering an evacuation, a state act, and scheduled visits by top elected officials.
The fire expanded westward into the Lawrence Creek basin, forcing an evacuation Thursday night of Oak Flat and Spud Road residents south of Agness.
Structure protection engines were placed in the area to help protect homes and outbuildings.
So far, no homes have been destroyed in Curry County by the fire.
The Snow Camp Mountain Lookout burned, but the Quail Prairie Mountain Lookout and Packers Cabin have so far survived the intense fire activity.
The governor invoked the Conflagration Act Tuesday, clearing the way for the Office of the State Fire Marshal to help prepare Curry County homes for the possible onslaught of fire.
Curry County Commissioner Marlyn Schafer said Thursday that President George W. Bush is scheduled to land in Medford Aug. 22 and fly around the fire, now the nation's largest.
The office of Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield, reported that the congressman was already scheduled to address a joint chamber of commerce meeting on Aug. 22 in Curry County.
The spokesperson said DeFazio has added a visit to the fire camp in Gold Beach, and possibly the one in Brookings, to his schedule.
She said DeFazio hopes the Biscuit Fire will convince the president to release $50 million in federal firefighting funds.
The fire was most active late in the week in Zone 4 (North Curry County), breaking out of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness at Lawson Butte, and pushing through the fire line at Snow Camp Mountain.
Humidity is expected to remain in the single digits, with light winds and temperatures near 90 degrees. Inversions and smoke have hampered efforts to fight the fire with helicopters.
The perimeter of the fire, as of Friday morning, was a mile southeast of Oak Flat, four miles east of Wilderness Retreat in the Chetco River Valley, and five miles east of Gardner Ranch in the upper Pistol River basin.
The fire was relatively quiet in Zone 3 (South Curry County), except for the Quail Prairie Mountain area, where it had broken through the fireline.
Curry County Emergency Services Coordinator Mike Murphy said, "Good progress has been reported around the Wilderness Retreat area in the Chetco drainage.
"There is still a lot of activity in that area, but the fire managers are feeling better about the situation this (Friday) morning."
There was good news from Zone 2 (California), where the fire was 100 percent contained as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
Steve Frye, incident commander of the Northern Rockies National Incident Management Team, was in command of Zone 2. He also assumed command of Zone 3 Friday, replacing Incident Commander Kim Martin.
Zone 1 (Illinois Valley), was quiet, though the fire continued to expand in the Indigo Creek area. The fire is predicted to reach Bear Camp Road by Monday.
Murphy said burnout activity in the north fork area of Indigo Creek has been largely successful, but will require two more days to finish the burning necessary to secure the fireline.
The evacuation notice for the entire Illinois Valley was lifted at 8 a.m. Friday.
Pre-evacuation advisories remain in effect for Agness, Illahe, Cate Road, Gardner Ridge north of Wilson Prairie, the upper Pistol River drainage near Gardner Ranch, and Wilderness Retreat.
The entire Biscuit Fire is about 30 percent contained. It is being fought by 6,886 personnel from federal, state, local and private agencies and organizations, with 3,604 of those in Curry County.
Murphy said, "The fire crews and overhead teams wish to express their appreciation to the community for the support shown to them during their time here.
"Please keep showing your support. It means a great deal to the fire folks to know that the community appreciates all their hard work."
Five firefighters were injured Wednesday morning when their pickup overturned on U.S. Highway 199 south of O'Brien. The Albany-based crew was traveling to the incident command post near Brookings when the accident occurred. The five were taken to Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass, treated and released.
An accident involving an Oregon National Guard vehicle was also reported on Gardner Ridge Road Friday afternoon.
Prior to the accidents, total injuries included two broken ankles, a bee sting reaction, and several cases of heat exhaustion.
Area Commander Rex Mann is now in charge of the Southwest Oregon National Interagency Area Command Team managing the fire from Medford.
Zone command centers are located at Lake Selmac, east of Brookings and in Gold Beach.
Resources include 54 Type I teams, 129 Type II teams, 30 camp crews, 43 helicopters, 238 engines and 84 bulldozers.
It has cost $67.1 million so far to fight the fire. Four residences and nine outbuildings were lost in the Illinois Valley. No commercial structures have been burned.
Information on the fire is available on-line at
http://www.biscuitfire.com. An information officer said the Web site is now receiving 60,000 hits a day nationally, causing the server to crash occasionally.
It has cost $67.1 million so far to fight the fire.
Every card carrying and contributing Green Jihadist in Oregon should be fined to pay for this fire. Every Green Organization in the ONRC should be fined. Andy Kerr and his Green Butt Boy Governor should be fined to pay for this fire. Every US Senator and congressit who has enabled the Green Agendas that led to this fire should be fined.
