Summer Weather Heats Up Fire Danger Across Oregon

WILDFIRE  ENVIRONMENT 

By Andrew Theen

Portland, OR  June 23, 2008 3:33 p.m.

Warm weather and some scattered thunderstorms kept fire crews busy across Central and Southern Oregon over the weekend.  Andrew Theen reports, state officials say people need to be careful now that summer weather has arrived.

Fire officials in Josephine County were busy dealing with at least eight fires caused by lightning strikes.  The same storm caused a few fires in neighboring Jackson County as well.

Kevin Weeks is a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Forestry.  He said it was an active weekend, but Weeks says so far Oregon is behind the historical average for fire season.

Kevin Weeks: "We definitely have benefited here in Oregon from a wetter than normal spring.  And certainly we had a good snow-pack in the wintertime.  That is going to delay the onset of some fire activities."

But Weeks said crews will be on duty and vigilant across the state with temperatures in some areas slated to hit the high 90s later this week.  And Weeks urged people to be extra careful with fireworks as the Fourth of July approaches.

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