MEDFORD, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Forestry announced it’s moving from ‘low’ fire danger level to ‘moderate’ at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. It impacts 1.8 million acres of protected land in Jackson and Josephine counties.
ODF said the biggest thing people need to know is when to shut down certain activities. Between 1 and 8 p.m. any kind of machinery that emits a spark, like a lawn mower and even battery powered devices will be prohibited.
ODF said when things like power tools are used in areas with dry grass, a fire can easily start.
“When you’re using power tools, you’re using a lawn mower or a power saw, it’s creating heat,” said ODF Public Information Officer Natalie Weber, “and when you create heat in an environment where we have dry grass, it can so much easily spark a fire from that heat that you’re generating.”
Last year, ODF raised the fire danger level to ‘moderate’ on June 21. ODF said if you have questions, you can contact ODF or your local fire district.
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