Illegal debris burns are still of concern to fire officials

Above: This recent debris pile burn in southern Oregon escaped and quickly torched half an acre of pasture before firefighters brought it under control. Photo by Kyle Reed.

While
recent rains and unseasonably cool temperatures took the edge off fire danger in much of Oregon last week, they weren’t enough to end fire season. The next few days will see warm temperatures return, with plenty of sunshine over most of the state. A few sunny hours is all it takes to dry out dead grass and
other light fuels, allowing them to burn again. 

This was demonstrated last Friday when
an illegal debris burn sparked a grass fire about four miles south of Rice
Hill in Douglas County. Firefighters from Douglas Forest Protective Association and North Douglas County Fire & EMS responded to the fire near Hogan Road around 3:45 p.m. and attacked the blaze.  Fortunately, crews were able to stop the fire at half an acre of grass. While no livestock or buildings were threatened in that fire, fast-moving grass fires can cause considerable property damage. Such fires can destroy fences, parked vehicles, outbuildings, even homes. Livestock can also be trapped in pastures by flames and injured or killed.