Firefighters protecting homes

JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. — The Southern flank of the Klondike Fire, where the fire jumped the Illinois River last Friday, is a cause for concern to firefighters.

It’s where communities like Wilderville, Wonder, Selma, and others are being threatened.

You can hear the sound of chainsaws in the distance as firefighters are hard at work.

“And what they’re going to do is cut off the woods from the grassy area and then burn out the woods behind it…,” said Michael Parent, firefighter.

That’s when firefighters set small fires around a home or structure to protect it.

“…By having a large area of black burned out that the fire cannot reach through…,” he said.

Casey Boespflug, a Division Supervisor for the Klondike Fire, says protecting homes near the Illinois River is essential.

“When the fire jumped this road we were using a control line and then it jumped the river, and so the need to protect these structures is definitely imminent…,” Boespflug said.

The home is in a drainage where fire can burn much faster uphill by causing multiple spot fires. And with wind shifts Friday and Saturday…

“It could push it faster and it could also get winds coming from the west here that could push it up into here…,” he said.

Much of the heavy smoke has also lifted causing the fire to spread faster, but Hallie Rasmussen, a Public Information Officer for the Klondike Fire, says it’s a double-edged sword.

“A wind shift can be good, so it can clear the air and let the aircraft get in there and be more successful in our air operations, ” Rasmussen said. “But we also have to consider what that weather might in terms of the fire behavior.”

With all these concerns along with fire being inherently unpredictable, she says they’re hoping they can get control of this Southern part of the fire.

“There isn’t an established containment line, but they’re working. That is their priority right now, to establish that containment line on the southern portion of the fire, ” she said.

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