Hm

[M.E.G.]

Looking back on the 'Petition For Redress ...' ( http://www.jeffersonminingdistrict....RdtPetitionForRedressOfGrievanceToSheriff.pdf ) pages 32-35 in particular, and coming across these two studies/articles recently https://zerogeoengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ForestFireAsAMilitaryWeapon.pdf and https://suntzusaid.com/book/12 and a San Francisco Chronicle article "hardscrabble miners" makes for a very interesting correlation indeed.

 

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[russau]

WOW !! I gotta catch my breath and read more latter !

 

[M.E.G.]

Burning right through the heart of many present mines in the Historic mining town of Galice Oregon. By design? Many in the area believe so.

Just one mans observation: Poor audio. Best listened to with head set and volume turned way up.

 

[M.E.G.]

This forwarding was recieved earlir today:

I've been told by numerous firefighters that the federal government takes a different approach to wildfires than other firefighting agencies.

Oregon Dept. of Forestry, Josephine County, and the private wildfire contractors view their jobs as "fighting" the wildfires. The objective is to put the wildfire out as quickly as possible. "Keep the fire small and give it your all."

Opposing this approach is the federal government which seeks to "manage" wildfires. This can mean using the wildfire as a controlled burn to clean up the forest.

Does this make sense in August or September? Could this be prolonging the wildfire and causing excess smoke and fear amongst people in Grants Pass and Merlin?

Maybe so or maybe not.

You can consider a first-hand report of someone who drove to Galice late Tuesday night. This Facebook report was brought to my attention by Eagle subscriber Mike Jones. He said, "I got way more from this [report] than the community meeting [Tuesday] night."

Maybe you will too.

Here is Kerby Jackson's report: (emphasis mine)

===

Late night trip to Galice, re: Rum Creek Fire (11 P.M.) - I was able tonight to make it all the way to Galice Creek. The whole area is strangely quiet and not a lot of people were around. I expected to see a checkpoint at Hog Creek, but the only thing going on was some equipment staging at the boat landing parking lot. Needless to say, we proceeded on to Hellgate and encountered a few fire crews with large equipment. The folks I spoke to there had little knowledge about what was going on in Galice, beyond the fact that line work was being done above Stratton Creek (which is probably where they were assigned). I asked about further checkpoints and was only told to expect to see fire close by if we proceeded on. Crossing Hellgate Bridge, the weed cleaning station that BLM had there prior was gone, but at this point, a definite glow was visible across river.

I expected a checkpoint at Indian Mary Park or by Morrison's Lodge, but again, there were no impediments to travel and the only activity going on was the sound of sprinklers running at Indian Mary and Morrison's, apart from an engine staging at Morrison's. So it was on to Galice Creek, where I finally encountered what I'd call a "loose checkpoint" manned by a National Guardsman from the Klamath Basin. His orders were to "discourage travel" beyond that point and he either knew very little about the fire situation on Peavine or below Galice, or he had been ordered not to divulge information, apart from the fact that fire activity seemed to be waning somewhat. I tend to think he honestly knew little. After a short chat, we left him be and headed back upriver, taking a few photos. To and from Galice from Hellgate, we passed one single truck with a fire logo on the side and by time we got back to Hellgate and Hog Creek, all the fire crews we'd seen had vanished and presumably had knocked it off for the night as their machinery remained.

In spite of this, there is still some active fire in Taylor Gorge/Windy Gap where the fire is burning to the river's edge, as well as in Paint Creek and at Delta Creek, which are both pretty well consumed. Some activity was seen in Stratton Creek, but it was less apparent there. In this vicinity, the fire is limited to north of the river and though burning, seems to be less active than it has been prior due to the lack of wind, which has been a major factor the last few nights.

Current mapping shows what's probably a SE trending backburn amounting to about 50 or 60 acres on the summit of Mt. Peavine in the eastern headwaters of Quartz Creek, about three miles due north of the Sugar Pine Mine Group and about a mile west of the main fire. It's been theorized by a number of people familiar with Galice that fire crews have probably run a line along the divide east of Quartz Creek and will connect it either to Peavine Road or into the South Fork of Rocky Gulch. For the most part, mapping suggests that the fire seems to be being held pretty well the last two days along the South Fork of Rocky, which supports that theory pretty well.

In the meantime, the general vagueness of information being released by the agencies and what can only be considered entirely poor media reporting on this fire, as well as what seems to be rather excessively wide evacuation zones, have not only people in Merlin on edge, but even have people in parts of Grants Pass thoroughly convinced that their doom is imminent. Social media is awash in all kinds of speculation and fears that the fire is going to not only burn Merlin to the ground, but also parts of Grants Pass.

I've seen quite a few fires up close in Galice, especially the Taylor Fire a few years ago, and as a long time miner in the area, I know the terrain and local conditions EXTREMELY WELL. Even though the Rum Creek Fire has threatened a lot of property around Galice and Rand (it has physically destroyed multiple structures, inflicted one casualty and has also resulted in at least six injuries), from what I've seen, it is currently nowhere near as aggressive or threatening as the Taylor Creek Fire was. Though Rum Creek shouldn't be viewed as "much ado about nothing", based on my observations past and present, it seems highly unlikely that it is much of a threat to Merlin, let alone to Grants Pass, in spite of a lot of general hysteria locally.

Though I really despise the way the feds want fires fought, as it really increases the acreage and smoke dramatically, the crews on this fire seem to be steering the fire where they want it and will probably have it contained in the next few days unless the wind picks back up. One firefighter I did speak to at Hellgate told me that they expect to be mopped up and out of here within two weeks. That would lead me to think that they themselves expect some level of major containment soon.

[In response to a comment, Kerby added additional information:]

For me it seemed to have burned a lot of acreage that didn't need to burn, but federal regulations limit their ability to fight fire in protected area. Needless to say, they set up boundary lines and try to keep it inside that area. It wouldn't surprise me if that area is 20,000 acres by time it's over.

[Kerby was asked if the fire has to stay inside the fed's boundaries and what happens if it doesn't.]

Ultimately it doesn't. If we get high temps and a lot of wind (which Galice often gets each afternoon), it could push it past their lines. If it breaks into Rich Gulch on Mt Peavine, it could really blow up. If it breaks out of Hog Creek we're going to have a BIG PROBLEM. Tons of fuel in those areas.