Firefighters pounce on Kerby Mainline wildfire
From our weekly issue dated July 23, 2008
Wind-driven flames burned nearly 70 acres of wildland in Kerby. Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) received mutual aid from other agencies in containing the blaze. Click on image above for slide show. (Photos by Dale & Elaine Sandberg, IVFD Media Dept.)
A massive and quick response of equipment and personnel worked to hold the Kerby Mainline Road fire to 69 acres.
Fire crews worked through Saturday night and all day Sunday and Monday, July 19 through 21, to improve fire line and mop up hot spots, said Oregon Dept. of Forestry (ODF).
Full containment has been achieved.
The blaze, reported at 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, was fought by firefighters and equipment from throughout Southwestern Oregon. It burned on private and Bureau of Land Management land.
The probable cause of the fire, said ODF’s Brian Ballou, was discovered by Josephine County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) as “scrappers.” Ballou described them as “folks who steal metal and then burn off the insulation.” It was the second such blaze in recent memory, he added.
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“It is extremely hazardous to be burning anything outside this time of year,” said Ballou.
The Kerby Mainline inferno began near the transfer station operated by Southern Oregon Sanitation on Kerby Mainline Road. It burned aggressively for several hours through brush, timber and old logging slash, ODF said.
IVFD was the first agency to respond. Volunteer Capt. Joe Feldhaus, a former ODF firefighter, reported “a working fire” as he responded. He advised the 911 Dispatch Center that additional resources were going to be needed.
IVFD personnel were at the scene until nearly 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Some I.V. personnel continued to help on Monday and Tuesday with water tenders.
ODF said that on Saturday three air tankers and three helicopters hit the fire’s flanks with retardant and water while three bulldozers dug fire line. Firefighters dug fire line by hand where the big tractors could not operate.
Crews continued to extinguish flames as needed. Helicopters were used as needed to scout the area for spot fires, and to drop buckets of water on hot spots.
Engines and firefighters from several agencies and private companies joined in the fire-fighting effort. ODF’s Medford and Grants Pass units dispatched numerous engines and many firefighters, two bulldozers and two helicopters.
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A helicopter and firefighters were brought in from the Douglas Forest Protective Association. Besides engines, water tenders and firefighters from IVFD, others came from Rural/Metro Fire Dept., Rogue River Fire District and U.S. Forest Service Wild Rivers Ranger District. Rural/Metro units covered IVFD stations in Selma and Cave Junction besides being at the scene for awhile.
Additional support was provided by Josephine County Emergency Management, JCSO and Jackson County Community Justice.
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A large amount of smoke that entered the valley Sunday evening appears to be from the 50,000-acre Siskiyou Complex Wildfire near Happy Camp, Calif. It was reported only 29 percent contained on Monday, July 21.
