Oregon Wildfires Threaten To Combine

Two wildfires charring almost 90,000 acres in southwestern Oregon threatened to combine as they marched toward a string of towns, prompting thousands of homeowners to be ready to evacuate.

The fires formed a front 25 miles long stretching from the communities of O'Brien to Selma, 20 miles north of the California line. All 17,000 residents of the Illinois Valley were on notice to prepare to evacuate.

Both fires originated in the Siskiyou National Forest. The first was reported at 68,000 acres and continued to push south on a course to link up with another 20,000 acre blaze. Three homes have been destroyed.

In Colorado, protection of a research center that holds artifacts and human remains was a top priority Tuesday at a wildfire burning on an estimated 1,500 acres at Mesa Verde National Park.

The fast-moving blaze forced 2,000 employees and visitors to evacuate the park after it was discovered Monday and threatened the park's historic cliff dwellings.

The fire destroyed two homes and damaged another that had been occupied by park service employees. The roof of a 1 million gallon water tank also burned. No injuries were reported.

The blaze, believed to be sparked by lightning, destroyed two homes and damaged another one that had been occupied by park service employees. No injuries were reported. Two wildfires in 2000 burned more than a third of the park's 52,000 acres.

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber said this year's fire season is already the most difficult of his tenure even though it is not yet August, the traditional height of the state's wildfires.

More than a dozen fires, all started by lightning, burned across 350,000 acres in Oregon, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. More than 12,100 firefighters battled the blazes.

Now that the flames and the embers have cooled in Arizona, residents are venting their anger over the Rodeo-Chediski wildfire.

During a town hall meeting in Clay Springs, residents vented their frustrations about indecisive U.S. Forest Service commanders, idle fire crews and impediments thrown against volunteers who fought to save their homes.

"As we observed our homes being burned, we didn't understand why fire crews were sitting around waiting for orders," Dave Neff, of Overgaard, said Monday. "We were being sacrificed. I don't know how many people I've heard say Heber-Overgaard was sacrificed so the fire didn't get to Show Low."

Forest service officials told the East Valley Tribune that decisions about where to deploy crews and how to battle the blaze were dictated by firefighter safety.

The Rodeo-Chediski fire that started in June burned about 469,000 acres and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

Firefighters in Oregon's Illinois Valley toured homes in the path of the fires on Monday, plotting their location by Global Positioning System. They had 11 tough questions to ask before committing resources to defend the homes.

Among the questions were: Is the driveway too narrow and brushy? Has brush been cleared within 30 feet? Are trees thinned? Eight or more yes answers means "Write Off." Less than eight, and they will be back.

Illinois Valley Fire Chief Kyle Kirchner urged everyone he met to leave before things get worse.

"We can see the fire from Selma. As far as I'm concerned it's imminent," he said. "Everything we've attempted to do on this fire, the fire has reared up and kicked us in the face."

Cradling her miniature dachshund, Deborah Zimmerman said she was resigned: "If the professionals can't stop it, it can't be stopped. Probably, when they give us our 30-minute notice, we're out of here."

Dennis Parker, of Cave Junction, heeded official advice, packing photos, important papers and bicycles. He was driving to his sister's house in Merlin, where he was leaving his wife and two young children to wait out the fire.

"I've got 20,000 gallons of propane by my back door, so I'm not going to hang around to see what happens," Parker said.