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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...

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 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...

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...

Bush to Tour Fire Lines 08/16/2002 By AP Staff President Bush will visit areas devastated by the Squires fire in Ruch next Thursday during a visit to Oregon that also will include a fund-raising dinner for Republican Senator Gordon Smith, the White House announced Friday. Bush, who is taking a "working vacation" at his ranch in Waco, Texas, also plans stops in California, according to a schedule released by the president's office. The president will deliver a speech on the importance of thinning forests to curb future wildfires, and has invited governors from Western states to join him during the...

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...

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...

Uncontrolled wildfires destroying tens of thousands of acres of pristine forestland in southern Oregon and threatening scores of homes, farms and ranches are now raging very close to WorldNetDaily's secluded corporate headquarters, forcing evacuation of all personnel and vital equipment. The so-called "Florence" fire, ignited by lightning almost two weeks ago, has already consumed over 18,000 acres of tinder-dry forest and remains totally uncontained despite the efforts of 500 firefighters. "Our primary concern right now is for the safety of our employees and their fight to save their own homes," said Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WorldNetDaily....

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...

Wildfire News Fires burning on more than 272,000 acres across Oregon The Associated Press 7/29/02 1:03 AM Major wildfires were burning on 272,422 acres in Oregon on Sunday. About 12,503 firefighters are working in the state. The Northwest Interagency Communication Center is tracking at least 15 major fires in Oregon. Top priorities for fire officials were the Cache Mountain fire, Sheldon Ridge fire and Biscuit-Florence-Sour fire. WHITE RIVER Started: 7/23/02, one mile east of Maupin Size: 25,000 acres Containment: 95 percent. Evacuations: mandatory evacuation of White River campground 7/24/02; Bake Oven Road and Buckhollow Road reopened, 7/27/02. Lower Deschutes River...