Free Republic

They say we only hurt the ones we love. Never has this been more evident than in the case of the so-called environmentalists who worship trees and serene natural surroundings to the point that they love them to death. I speak from first-hand experience. I own a beautiful property in the southern Oregon forest currently under evacuation order because of raging wildfires. My house, our company's corporate headquarters – and much more – could be destroyed at any moment by the out-of-control blazes. Why have we seen such destructive fires recently in Oregon, California, Colorado and throughout the West? Because,...

Wildfire News/Oregon Cool weather is two-edged sword on Florence and Sour Biscuit Fires By JEFF BARNARD, The Associated Press, 8/6/02 3:17 AM CAVE JUNCTION, Ore. (AP) -- Cool and humid weather that has kept a lid on the Florence and Sour Biscuit fires prevented crews from fire-hardening the southern end of the 40-mile containment line protecting the Illinois Valley. "It's a two-edged sword," said Mike Lohrey, incident commander on the eastern front of the fires that have burned a combined 275,000 acres of the Siskiyou National Forest in southwestern Oregon said Monday. A few drops of rain fell on the...

Fire Fight Hampered by Cooler Weather 08/05/2002 By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer Firefighters trying to get a line around the massive Florence Fire hoped for rain Monday, but said they were nevertheless making good progress on corralling the blaze with a 200-mile containment line starting at the California border. The 240,000-acre fire, located in the Siskiyou National Forest in southwestern Oregon, increased Sunday by more than 40,000 acres from burnouts alone, said Tom Valluzzi, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. Burnouts are fires that are intentionally set behind dirt containment lines by crews hoping to rob the main blaze of...

Kitzhaber Tours Fire Scenes, Guardsmen Arrive 07/22/2002 By kgw.com and AP Staff updated @ 3:20 p.m. Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, conducting an aerial tour of Oregon's wildfires Monday afternoon, praised a group of property owners for taking steps to keep their homes from burning in the midst of the devastating Squire Peak Fire. Not one home around the community of Ruch was lost in the fire, although four outbuildings were destroyed. That fire was now 95 percent contained. Gov. Kitzhaber talks with folks in Ruch about fire conditions. (KGW Photo) Kitzhaber also said this year's early and devastating fires show...

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,...