[AuntB]

Check out this reply from Marsh2 from another thread.

One of my fire chief friends was telling me this evening that he is forbidden from fighting wildland fires that start in the New Cascade Siskiyou Monument. He is not permitted to use any mechanized equipment, so the fire grows to 300 feet high by the time it crosses the monument border so he can start to fight it and protect local homes and property. He said that last year a tree was struck by lightning. It burned like a Roman candle. They called the BLM Medford for permission to take a chain saw in and knock it down. The BLM said they had to wait until their expert came out and inspected it. It took two days for the guy to come out and by that time, 7 fires had been started.

[EBUCK]

Local forests need to be controled by local people! Washington D.C. will never be effective at anything especially something as critical as firefighting.

EBUCK

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

Just returned from Crater Lake; truley one of the natural wonders of the world. Although I didn't treat it as a "Druid Cathedral (Thanks Gramps)" like many granola crunchers, I was impressed once again. The rim drive is open & the panoramas cannot be touched.

Amazingly the basin and the crater are incredibly clear today - first time in awhile. From the west rim drive at seven thousand feet, looking east, you can see huge plumes of smoke from the Tiller complex fire. 40 thousand acres of beautiful forests in the Rogue/South Umpqua divide are raging. You can see the smoke layer forming a thousand feet above the fire and hang there.

Aunt B - Medford looked pretty clear today also - hot as blazes though. 95 in Klamath/ 10? in Medford??