JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. – Rural Metro responding to four fires started in less than 48 hours over the weekend in the North Valley area near Merlin.
“There was some indications that open burning was involved and there was some indication that electrical equipment was possibly involved,” Rural Metro division chief Austin Prince said.
ODF is investigating, but Rural Metro said there is no evidence that indicates any of the four fires were from natural causes.
In Douglas County, two fires are under investigation, according to the ‘Douglas Forest Protective Association.’
The quarter acre ‘Robert Creek Fire,’ near Roseburg, was mopped up and cleared within an hour.
The ‘Ferguson Lane Fire,’ in Days Creek, was the largest, at just over 13 acres.
“It was assessed to about a 2-to-3 acre grass fire,” DFPA spokesperson Rachael Pope said. “That fire kind of took off but our rural responders and DFPA were able to catch it and limit the spread to 13.4 acres.”
DFPA said both fires were human-caused and are under investigation.
With fire season underway for much of the state, firefighters is reminding residents of the Rogue Valley to follow restrictions, including no longer allowing any debris burns.
That’s the law in each ODF region, where fire season has begun.
“Opening burning is now illegal, there’s not getting any kind of way around that, that’s a pretty straight forward thing,” Prince said. “However, there’s still quiet a bit of it going on. If a fire was started from something that was preventable or was against the rules at the time, there could be a citation involved. There could be a fee to collect for the suppression activities.”
Not to mention, if you start a fire that destroys property, you could also be sued in civil court.
For a complete list of fire season rules and restrictions in your county, visit ODF, or your local fire departments website.
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