“I thought no, I’m gonna call 911,” said next-door neighbor Chris Coles. “The wind was really horrible, probably 30 to 40 miles per hour, so it was spreading really quickly.
Cole jumped into action after she noticed the burn get out of control. “I turned on our sprinklers after I called 911,” she said.
That decision fire officials said was the right move. “ODF said because we have short grass, we’ve been keeping it nice and groomed, that we were probably pretty good even if it did get over here,” Coles said.
It’s Cole’s first fire season in the rural area but she’s lived in the Rogue Valley for years, so she knows how to prepare for fire season. “We knew the risk, that’s why we try to keep our yard, our grass, mended.
Cole said the Oregon Department of Forestry and Jackson County Fire District Three were both on the scene quickly. They contained the fire to about half an acre.
Fire crews are reminding everyone that residential burning is illegal, and like Coles, be prepared for anything.
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