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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...

The following is a transcribed portion of an interview aired today on the Lars Larson radio program from Portland, Or., which is broadcast across the Northwest from noon to 4:00 P.M. pacific. There is little I can add to his exchange with the executive vice-president of a company that supplies helicopter service to the US Forest service to show the inept and dangerous policies of this bureaucracy. Please bring these disclosures to your congress people’s attention and demand the policy of silence and media blackout practiced by the Forest Service and environmental groups stop. Our homes, forests and lives are...

Fires burning on more than 438,000 acres across Oregon The Associated Press Major wildfires have burned and are burning on more than 438,000 acres in Oregon on Friday. About 12,000 firefighters are working in the state. The Northwest Interagency Communication Center is tracking at least nine major fires in Oregon. Top priorities for fire officials were the 150,000-acre Florence fire, the 17,000-acre Timbered Rock fire, the 38,000-acre Sour Biscuit Fire, and the 26,850-acre Tiller Complex. LUCKY FIRE Started: 7/29/02, 10 p.m. six miles south of Detroit. Size:87 acres Containment: 70 percent Evacuations: None. Damages: None yet. In heavy timber. On...

Wildfire News! Successful burnout diminishes threat to Illinois Valley, Oregon homes By JEFF BARNARD The Associated Press 8/2/02 3:43 AM SELMA, Ore. (AP) -- A shift in the wind allowed firefighters to torch miles of brush in an effort to save thousands of homes in southwest Oregon. Hotshot crews poured fire from drip torches, burning a black swath of safety for the 17,000 people of the Illinois Valley. With each mile of burnout added along the 30-mile front of fire, the threat to the towns of Selma, Kerby, Cave Junction and O'Brien diminished. "I certainly feel better today," Illinois Valley...

Firefighters set own blazes in bid to corral wildfires 08/01/02 ALEX PULASKI and BETH QUINN SELMA -- A column of thick smoke reared its head near this Southwest Oregon town at sundown Wednesday, proof that firefighters had begun an important counterattack. From Our Advertiser Bulldozer operators and hand crews had spent two days stitching together a 30-mile line in the dirt, but until Wednesday night, fickle winds had prevented them from setting their own fires to protect Oregon's Illinois Valley. "The wind has just been too squirrelly," spokesman Tom Valluzzi said. As incident commander Mike Lohrey explained to residents Tuesday...

Thousands in the Line of Fire in SW Oregon 07/31/2002 By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer Officials say there is just one main route out of the fire zone in southern Oregon's Illinois Valley -- U-S 199 South -- along with three back roads. Josephine County sheriff's deputies say signs pointing out evacuation routes will go up today. The Florence Fire has burned about 145-thousand acres and the Sour Biscuit fire stands at about 35-thousand acres. They two fires remain about three to four miles apart, but together they form a 30-mile long front of fire threatening the communities of...