REWARD OFFERED: The Oregon Dept. of Forestry and the Oregon Council Against Arson are offering up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person, or people, who caused the Slate Creek Fire on Labor Day just southwest of Grants Pass. See ODF's 9-26-12 bulletin (PDF format).

October 16, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHWEST OREGON NEWS MEDIA

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY
SOUTHWEST OREGON DISTRICT
5286 Table Rock Rd
Medford, OR 97502

ROGUE RIVER-SISKIYOU NATIONAL FOREST
Supervisor’s Office
3040 Biddle Rd.
Medford, OR 97504

Contact: Brian Ballou, ODF, (541) 665-0662 or (541) 621-4156
Virginia Gibbons, USFS, (541) 618-2113

FIRE SEASON IS OVER ON SOUTHWEST OREGON FORESTLANDS

Fire season ended this morning on lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Southwest Oregon District and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. The fire danger level is “low” (green).

All public regulated use restrictions and Industrial Fire Precaution Level regulations have been terminated on ODF-protected lands, which covers state, private, county, city and Bureau of Land Management lands in Jackson and Josephine counties. The same is true on Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest lands, including the wild section of the Rogue National Wild and Scenic River.

The fire season began June 20 and lasted 127 days. The average length of fire season is 142 days.

Woody debris pile and barrel burning are now allowed on ODF-protected lands. However, open burning is regulated for air quality. Before lighting your pile or burn barrel, call the open burning advisory number for your county:

• Jackson County, (541) 776-7007
• Josephine County, (541) 476-WOOD

Also, some cities do not allow open burning, and many rural fire protection districts require a burning permit. Contact your local structural fire service provider to obtain any necessary permits before burning.

[Note that while the Colestin Rural Fire District does not require burning permits, it is always a good idea to call and let us know that you are burning debris, as a safety precaution and so that we do not respond to false alarms.]

Fire prevention tips and fuel reduction grant information is available online at www.swofire.oregon.gov and at ODF Southwest Oregon District unit offices:

• Medford Unit, 5286 Table Rock Rd.; (541) 664-3328
• Grants Pass Unit, 5375 Monument Dr.; (541) 474-3152

For fire-related information on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, call the Medford Interagency Communication Center at (800) 267-3126, or online at www.ormic.org.

###

Brian Ballou
Fire Prevention Specialist
ODF Southwest Oregon District
(541) 665-0662
bballou@odf.state.or.us

See ODF's October 16th, 2012, bulletin declaring the end of fire season (PDF format).

MINIMUM fire precaution levels and restrictions are assigned during fire season by the ODF and affect all state, private, county, city and BLM forestlands, including all wildland within the Colestin fire district.

Please observe these restrictions and all regulations voluntarily; any violators will be cited and may be prosecuted if necessary.

If you have any questions or concerns about regulated activity restrictions, you can contact us, or contact the ODF directly at (541) 664-3328.

See ODF's Southwest Oregon District web page (at http://oregon.gov/ODF/FIELD/SWO/SWOfire.shtml) for additional information.

For current updates and more local info, check back here at our website.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, call us at (541) 488-1768.

Thank you for your cooperation and participation in fire protection and prevention.

Check our 2012 Fire Season Chronology page for an archive of bulletins or news as fire season develops, and our Fire Season & Fire News Archives page for links to yearly logs of previous fire seasons and specific fire incident and photo archives.

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