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WASHINGTON – The federal government spent nearly $11 million to salvage timber from an Oregon wildfire in 2002, yet it stands to get less than $9 million from selling the wood, congressional investigators say. The Bush administration and its Republican allies in Congress have said lawsuits filed by environmentalists caused delays that added to the cost of the fire. The report by the Government Accountability Office acknowledged that the delays cost money, but said the administration's decision to dramatically increase logging, coupled with the size of the fire and the complexity of environmental laws, were actually to blame for the...

In the early afternoon of Saturday, July 13, a lightning storm began in the northwest corner of California, crossed the state line into Siskiyou National Forest in southwest Oregon, and moved northeast toward Crater Lake sparking dozens of small fires in its wake. Several of these fires on the Siskiyou grew large and merged together, becoming the biggest wildfire in Oregon history – a mega-inferno that has consumed close to half a million acres of forest land, including nearly the entire 180,000-acre Kalmiopsis Wilderness, and in late July caused the 17,000 residents of the Illinois Valley to be placed on...

WINDS PUSH BISCUIT FLAMES OVER LINE Published: August 31, 2002 By Bill Lundquist, Pilot Staff Writer Chetco Effect weather conditions pushed the Biscuit Fire Wednesday afternoon over a contingency fire line near Tolman Ranch, but no structures were lost. Alaska Incident Management Team Information Officer Bill Beebe said crews were moved back and helicopters dropped water. Mike Frazier, with the U.S. Forest Service, said the area around Tolman Ranch has been cleared and protected, so there should be no danger to structures. Due to the increased fire activity, the estimated containment date has been moved to Sept. 6. In North...

Red Flag Warning/Fire Weather Watch Information ZZZ000-291358-FNUS56 KMFR 281355 FWFMFR FIRE WEATHER FORECAST FIRE WEATHER OFFICE MEDFORD, OR FORECASTER: WOLF 700 AM PDT WED AUG 28 2002 A RED FLAG WARNING CONTINUES THIS MORNING FOR GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY ACROSS THE RIDGES OF FIRE WEATHER ZONES 618, 619 AND 620... DISCUSSION...A THERMAL TROUGH ALONG THE SOUTHERN OREGON COAST WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES OVER THE RIDGES OF EXTREME SOUTHWEST OREGON THIS MORNING. THIS AFTERNOON THE THERMAL TROUGH WILL WEAKEN AND SHIFT INLAND BRINGING AN END TO RED FLAG WARNING CONDITIONS OVER...

Containment nearing on Biscuit Fire By JEFF BARNARD The Associated Press 8/27/02 10:48 AM GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- The nation's biggest wildfire this year, the Biscuit fire in southwestern Oregon, passed the 500,000-acre mark on Tuesday as firefighters closed in on containment and some crews were sent to other fires. Only 10 miles of fire line remained to be strengthened with burnout operations, raising the total acreage to 500,023 acres, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Jean Schaeppi. Started by lightning strikes July 13, the fire remained 90 percent contained, with full containment expected Aug. 31. Containment means fire commanders...

Biscuit Fire expected to be contained Monday August 25, 2002 PORTLAND - Fire bosses say they expect full containment on the Biscuit Fire in southwest Oregon by tomorrow. That's when they predict they can have the 300-mile line around the fire completed. The fire has burned nearly 500,000 acres since lightening started it about six weeks ago. However fire information officer Susan Mathison says containment does not mean the fire is out. She says it could still ignite and spread until the first serious rain. She said interior burning within the fire line, which ranges from one foot to 30...

To the dismay of environment-destroying "environmentalists," President Bush today shifted federal policy toward thinning national forests to reduce the risk of wildfires. "The forest policy of our government is misguided policy. It doesn't work," Bush told cheering residents outside Medford, Ore., near the state's largest fire on record. "We need to thin. We need to make our forest healthy by using some common sense. "We need to understand that if we let kindling build up and there's a lightning strike, you gonna get yourself a big fire. That's what we gotta understand." It makes sense to clear brush, he...

AUGUST 22, 09:40 ET Bush Unveils Plan to Fight Wildfires By JENNIFER LOVEN Associated Press Writer CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) — Embarking on a three-day Western swing expected to haul in at least $5 million for Republican politicians, President Bush is taking a stand on one of the region's thorniest issues by proposing that more logging in national forests would help prevent devastating wildfires. Bush was traveling Thursday from his Texas ranch to southwestern Oregon, near the California state line, for a briefing on local fires that have ravaged the area and an aerial view of the damage. The president was...

Bush expected to promote new forest policy 08/21/02MICHAEL MILSTEIN and JIM BARNETT When he speaks Thursday in Medford, President Bush is expected to push for more intensive thinning of Western forests to reduce fire danger. And he will likely support legislation streamlining environmental rules that have slowed many Western logging projects. It will plainly signal the administration's approach to forest management against the backdrop of epic wildfires burning throughout Oregon and the West.It could also incite a storm of opposition from environmental groups that argue logging only will do more harm to Western forests. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said Tuesday...

Bush to push for thinning The Associated Press, 8/21/02 4:21 AM MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -- President Bush will address forest health issues when he visits Medford on Thursday, most likely pushing for more intensive thinning of Western forests to reduce fire danger. When they reach Medford, the president and U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith will receive a briefing on Oregon wildfires, according to Joe Sheffo, Smith's press secretary. Bush and Smith will then be taken on a tour of the area burned by the Squire fire southeast of Ruch. The fire scorched nearly 3,000 acres of public and private land after...

Intended Consequences: Natural Process v. Environmental Arrogance By Sean FinneganPublished 08. 19. 02 at 18:58 Sierra Time Sean Finnegan, who reported regularly from Klamath Falls for The Sierra Times, will be providing exclusive coverage of the Sawgrass Rebellion - the convoy headed toward Florida. As expected, The Sierra Times will provide regular coverage of this event. Finnegan begins his series on the battles in the Western States.DISPATCHES:· In the early morning of October 18, 1998, fire destroyed five buildings and four ski lifts in Vail, Colorado. Two days later an underground terrorist group known as the Earth Liberation Front...

Fires burning across Oregon (Still) The Associated Press 8/20/02 1:51 AM Major wildfires were burning on about 560,000 acres in Oregon on Monday. About 10,507 firefighters were working in the state. The Northwest Interagency Communication Center is tracking eight major fires in Oregon. Top priorities for fire officials Monday were the Biscuit fire, covering 448,857 acres, the 6,000-acre Apple fire and the 56,900-acre Tiller Complex. BISCUIT FIRE (formerly called Florence Fire; name changed on 8/11/02) Started: Florence fire started 26 miles west of Grant Pass, 07/13/02; Sour Biscuit started 17 miles southwest of Cave Junction. Size: 448,857 acres. Containment: 40...

Black line protects subdivision from Biscuit Oregon Live/The Oregonian, 08/19/02 WENDY LAWTON and WENDY OWEN Residents in a 25-home subdivision near Agness got some relief Sunday as crews finished a burnout to protect them from the Biscuit fire raging three-quarters of a mile away. A black line, an area devoid of fuel, now protects the Oak Flat subdivision, but the line needs to be tested by the main fire to ensure it's secure. "They've got a good buffer," said Dick Fleishman, fire information officer. However, hot temperatures and high winds can blow embers across the line and spark spot fires,...

Published: August 16, 2002 By Kent Gray, Triplicate staff writer Fire officials have acknowledged a request was made to attempt to extinguish the Biscuit Fire when it was only 100 acres, but that request was turned down. "They offered to make one run on the fire to do bucket work for one fuel cycle," said Paul Galloway, information officer for the Biscuit Fire said. "But management didn't believe that would be helpful. There were no ground crews to take advantage of it and it would have had minimal effect." Del Norte County Supervisor Chuck Blackburn said yesterday the helicopter crew...

More From The Oregonian Homes south of Agness get orders to evacuate 08/16/02 R. GREGORY NOKES The Curry County sheriff gave evacuation notices to residents of 30 homes three miles south of Agness late Thursday evening as the Biscuit fire continued its rapid spread north. The fire came within three-fourths of a mile of the Oak Flats and Spud Road areas near Agness, a community of 150 along the Rogue River, said Dick Fleishman, a fire information officer. Officials decided to give evacuation notices in the area while it was still light out. They did not include Agness, which remains...

Fires burning across Oregon The Associated Press 8/15/02 1:45 AM Major wildfires are burning on about 479,000 acres in Oregon on Tuesday. About 9,400 firefighters are working in the state. The Northwest Interagency Communication Center is tracking five major fires in Oregon. Top priorities for fire officials Wednesday were the Biscuit fire, covering 390,276 acres, and the 44,880-acre Tiller Complex, and the 136-acre Hemlock fire. BISCUIT FIRE (formerly called Florence Fire; name changed on 8/11/02) Started: Florence fire started 26 miles west of Grant Pass, 07/13/02; Sour Biscuit started 17 miles southwest of Cave Junction. Size: 390,276 acres. Containment: 26...

Coastal air helps slow advance of western flank of Biscuit Fire, giving residents hope By JEFF BARNARD, The Associated Press, 8/14/02 3:44 AM BROOKINGS, Ore. -- Hot weather made life miserable for firefighters on the eastern flanks of the Biscuit fire, but moist marine air on the western side helped a small outback subdivision under an evacuation advisory. "I don't think it will get here," Incident Commander Kim Martin said Tuesday while briefing a dozen residents of the Wilderness Retreat subdivision, located about 12 miles east of Brookings on the Chetco River. They stood in the shade of some fir...

Oregon Firefighters get no help from the weather By JEFF BARNARD The Associated Press 8/13/02 3:25 AM GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- Dry east winds, low humidity and temperatures topping 100 degrees are giving firefighters all they can handle as the massive Biscuit Fire creeps toward several small towns. The fire, Oregon's largest in more than a century, stood at 376,800 acres on the Siskiyou National Forest and adjoining lands in southwestern Oregon and northern California. It started July 13 from lightning that struck in the remote Kalmiopsis Wilderness. "This week is an important week for the fire," said Susan...

<p>GRANTS PASS, Ore.  — The nation's largest active wildfire grew to about 333,890 acres early Saturday, making it Oregon's largest wildfire in over a century.</p> <p>The blaze in the Siskiyou National Forest and adjoining lands in southwestern Oregon and Northern California is now larger than the 1933 Tillamook Fire, which burned 311,000 acres.</p>

Australian and New Zealand fire fighters were deployed today to a massive wildfire burning out of control on the United States' west coast. Weary US fire fighters have struggled for a month to contain what has become Oregon's largest fire in more than 100 years. "We are excited to have the Australians and New Zealanders here because we need all of the help we can get," Paul Galloway, a spokesman at the Oregon fire fighting headquarters, said. "It's a pretty significant fire that has stretched our resources on a national level." Australia and New Zealand sent 48 of their most...