![[Smoke over the hill]](qg_fire/qg_0813-thmb.jpg)
The crowd at Ruch Elementary School Tuesday applauded gratefully at every introduction of various leaders of the firefighting effort, showing our appreciation for the men putting their lives on the line for our homesteads. Incident Commander Greg Gilpin, among others, gave a chillingly entertaining and lucid explanation of the extent of the fire and the strategy, tactics and expectations of success for controlling it.
Highlights: Starting in well-managed BLM timber lands, the fire has garnered national as well as state attention; east coast media sources have contacted the Forest Service, fishing for information. Road work to widen Little Applegate Road approaches has ceased for the duration of the fire. The governor's office has declared it an emergency, enabling additional funds and assistance of 300 special National Guard troops trained in firefighting. Inter-agency cooperation pioneered in Southern Oregon is resulting in a highly effective mobilization of forces that has set an example being spread to other fire managment teams across the States, one of the reasons for national interest. Another is that this fire is designated the #1 fire in the nation due to the extent of the threat to dwellings.
The strategy for this fire is "anchor, flank, and pinch". Anchor: As seen in the map (link below) the anchor is the upper left corner of the red lined area, approximately 2.5 miles south of the staging area, at the lower end of Quartz Gulch at Yale Creek Road. Flank: The upper line reaches across 2 miles to Lick Gulch and heads south. The left line proceeds down southeast from the staging area along Yale Creek through Dog Fork, where two structures have been lost, and remaining residents are urged to evacuate. It continues south toward Little Red Mountain. Operating in temperatures of 125 degrees Fahrenheit, teams are lining the fire with dozer-cleared fire breaks devoid of fuel, using "direct" methods of firefighting (one foot in the black - literally standing with one foot in charred areaas and shoveling dirt on flaming brush beside the other!). Thirty-nine loads of retardant have been dropped. Pinch: The lines are being forced together by nearly 950 firefighters, over difficult to access hilly terrain, to converge at the summit of the Siskiyous in the Klamath National Forest. When the teams can meet and close the lines below the fire, it will have been contained, allowing large reduction in force and concentration on prevention rather than reactionary effort.
Minimum expected coverage is 12,000 acres, with a high probability of growing to 22,000 acres before the "pinch" capture can be made at Siskiyou Peak.
Flame heights range from 4 to 100 feet, even at 10:00 PM. Flames this high normally occur only at peak temperatures in mid afternoon, indicating the special conditions surrounding the start and growth of this fire.
Briefly, 7-Mile Ridge was considered as the first likely capture line to the east, but access restrictions left no safety for firefighters. The first line of capture is now the Little Applegate River. Dozers have cleared fuel for areas bounding the west side of the tributary and retardant will be spread there to widen the distance across to about 500 feet from the east bank. There are secondary and tertiary fall-back lines mapped and also in the process of being prepared.
When we asked what we could do to help, we were told very kindly, "This is our job to do for you. Please just stay out of the way. And pray.