Free Republic

August 10, 2002 Florence fire jumps lines, makes tracks for Brookings By PAUL FATTIG Medford Florence fire jumps lines, makes tracks for Brookings Mail Tribune The dog days of August continue to hound firefighters battling the southern flank of the 331,375-acre Florence fire. As temperatures rise, residents in the hamlet of Wilderness Retreat along the Chetco River more than a half-dozen miles east of Brookings have been warned to evacuate on a moment’s notice if the fire flares up along its southwest flank. However, the fire is about three and a half miles from the scattered homes and as of...

Grants Pass- U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth said thinning national forests and restoring the natural role of fire in the ecosystem should be made top priority after he toured the largest active wildfire in the nation.The Florence Fire was threatening to become the largest wildfire in state history after expanding to 308,000 acres on the Siskiyou National Forest and adjoining lands in southwestern Oregon and Northern California.The largest wildfire in Oregon was the Tillamook Fire in 1933 which burned 311,000 in the northwest corner of the state.The threat to 17,000 people of the Illinois Valley has eased, but the...

Forest Service Chief Calls for Controlled Burns 08/09/2002 By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth toured the Florence Fire Thursday and said it is imperative to thin national forests and restore the natural role of fire in the ecosystem. Bosworth said he wanted a firsthand look at the largest active wildfire in the nation, to see how well the national firefighting effort is dealing with what could become the worst wildfire season in history. "The most important thing we can do in a good part of the West is doing some thinning and reintroduce fire...

30-mile fire front menaces southwest Oregon towns 07/30/02 BETH QUINN CAVE JUNCTION -- Wildland firefighters battled to keep a 30-mile-long wall of fire from reaching the Illinois Valley on Monday where 17,000 people were warned to get ready to flee. From Our Advertiser As the 70,000 acre Florence fire roared south toward the 20,000-acre Sour Biscuit blaze, firefighters dug a last-ditch fire line stretching along the western edge of the valley and southwestern Oregon communities. Sixteen bulldozers worked the line on the steep ridges west of Woodrat, Tennessee and Eight Dollar mountains while 14 more wait along U.S. 199 in...