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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 12, 1960)
o o G o SUNDAY. JUNE 11. lit MESFORD MAIL THTBTJlfB, Mi. 1)1 UH'B, s A . ; I -i? " III I "J f". rMCr!ir plans flnlni? over a new structure to be built by the Oregon west, oversees and coordinates activities of state forestry department, above, are South- the Medford and Grants Pass sectors that iwest Distict Warden Curt Nesheim, left, and make up the district. With lookouts all man- 'his assistant, Doyle Stockton, both of whom ned, the state forestry deaprtment is now 'work out of the Medford headquarters on ready for the forthcoming, fire season. 'Table Rock rd. Nesheim, who 'COOK Mrs. C. O. Gerhardt is responsible lunches that would be delivered, along with 'for food preparation at state forestry depart- large containers of hot coffee, to the scene , ment headquarters, Medford, and although of the fire. The big kitchen and dining room 'he regularly feeds between 12 and 15 men, is located in the crew house at' headquarters . she must be prepared to fix meals for 50 or station. In an emergency, Mrs. Gerhardt and ' 100 if a big fire broke out. The means would her summer helper, Mrs. Pearl Bean, will more than likely be in the form of sack cull for more women to help in the kitchen. I S -f FlHE ALARM Fire suppression crews at Oregon state forestry department head quarters. Table Rock rd., Medford, waste no time When a fire alert sounds over the loudspeakers. The fire rig above is fully equipped, gassed and ready to roll on a moments notice. Warden Bill Davis Is shown City Manager ot Eugene Resigns Eugene-iUPD-The city man ager of Eugene has resigned. Robert A. Flnlayson, 58, Eu gene city manager since 1053, announced h I s resignation here Friday to Mayor Edwin E. Cone and city council mem bers. Finlayson, who came here after serving as city manager at Oregon City, said he was resigning to go to another po sition, but did not specify what position and where. CORN REMOVER ('"I hitatl nll ftM pmim mnj fWMm Har4 oma, Mh cotm " " MlhMH!. W mnl ( Mm) him, m 4t mi tan ttw liiliuH ai "" MM MiIwm Wha ml mHftt M toilad try tfcli m. Try or ImiImi IiM, Md nlltni Mta. MTWMII, iwalllni Urn , tttmnf IImHm (alii ramMlln MH) m MMr iMk tVWMlM. o Exclusively it WESTERN THRIFT the Dions for 15 vcars of forestry experience in the north- has more than ill:::) R -JIM getting into the vehicle as fire crew mem bers George Davis (Bill's brother) and Wes Stanfield come from the warehouse on the run. Fires are often reported by motorists or residents in an area, but in the more remote sections lookouts are depended upon tn turn In U'C a'lrtTi, I f I ii -. i.Vv I fiAa I " KEY MAN An important Job quarters is that of the dispatcher, who receives hundreds of radio calls a day from guard stations, lookouts and radlo- cquippcd vehicles. Walter (Buzz) Moran takes down informa atlon on a "10-33" ... the code number for fire. All calls in the Medford sector of the southwest district are channeled through the dispatcher. A large map on his left is used to pin point the location of fir by tha triangulatlon method. 1 ; J if It at forestry department head Fire Suppression Becomes Science In Recent Years BY BOB VROMAN Mail Tribune Staff riter The day was another scorcher ... hot and dry. The asphalt on downtown streets blistered under the July sun. On a remote logging road to the east, a motorist, without thinking, flipped a cigarette butt out the car window, and the scene was set for a drama that happens many times a year in southern Oregon. The players: the fire suppression personnel of the Oregon state forestry department. This particular cigarette butt is like the fuse of a bomb. It lands in the soft, punky material of a rotten log and smoulders there for several minutes before a breeze fans the glowing tinder to life and the nucleus of a forest fire is born. Sees Bluish Cast Several miles away, a look out notices a bluish cast to the canyon haze. He notes the azimuth, the estimated dis tance to the area, in addition to a description of the loca tion and the type of terrain. He writes this basic infor mation down quickly on a special form and immediately contacts headquarters station on Table Rock rd. by radio. "This is six thirtynine to two. "Two ... go ahead six three nine ..." "Ten thirty three. Blue haze noted in canyon north of Flounce rock. No column evi dent. Azimuth 243 degrees Wheels Begin to Turn The wheels at headquarters begin to turn. The dispatcher asks for a triangulation from another lookout station to pin point the location of the sus pected fire. He has already spotted it. From all appearances it is going blaze now, as the dis patcher draws a penciled cross on a master map in the com munications room. Township 32 south, range 2 east, south west quarter section 34. Within minutes, the dis patcher at headquarters has radioed the fire warden at McLeod guard station. The warden shouts to his three crew members who are out back cutting wood. We ve got a live one in Foster canyon . . ." The men come on the run, grabbing two canteens of water as they come by the spring house, and climb aboard the fire rig that is fully equipped and ready to go. Plan Best Route On the way they plan the best route to take to reach the fire. The pickup whines up Uie twisting mountain road and dust pours through the cab as the men try to vis ualize what they will find when they get there. They will be the first on the scene, and whether or not they will be able to handle the fire by themselves is a matter of question. The warden calls headquar ters on the vehicle's radio. "We'll be there is about 15 minutes. How docs it look?" Assistant District Warden Doyle Stockton sends a reply. "Burnt peak says its heavy red column now . wind strong from below. It looks bad. I'm starting a crew from here . . . . " The pickup jolts to a halt at a wide place in the road, and up ahead the fire, burn ing hot, has spread to several acres up the side of the moun tain. Notify Logging Outfit The warden again contacts headquarters and his message is relayed to Stockton, who is now en route to the fire Stockton tells the headquar ters dispatcher to notify a log ging outfit in the area that they 11 need a Cat and 15 men and also to prepare meals for 30 men, for it looks like It might be an all night oper ation. Once on the scene, crews, under the direction of Fire Boss Stockton, cut a fire line far up the ridge, the Cat working from one side and men with hand tools from the other. Just before daybreak the fire is contained. Filthy with grime and sweat, the men can now rest easy, but a few will remain for the mop up operation . , , the dirtiest job of all. Tills hypothetical situation Is a typical, routine Job for the men of the fire suppres sion crews. It is an average "small" fire that could have blackened out thousands of acres of timber If it were not for fast action of the forestry department personnel and ready volunteers. Btcomti A Scitnca Fire suppression In recent years has been coming more and more a science, but o far there is no substitute i Board Will Seek Request Opinion Salem - d'PD - The staff of the Oregon Water Resources board plans to ask the Oregon attorney general for a formal opinion on the status of an application from Idaho Power company for an Oregon li cense to build Brownlee, Ox bow and Hells Canyon dams on the Snake river. Idaho Power has sought an Oregon license since 1047. The projects have gone ahead anyway. A hearing was held by the board in 1956 and 1957 but the matter was deferred for several reasons, among them a study of the Snake river basin conducted by the board. Girl Pulls Brothers From Burning Home Portland-IUPD-An eight-year-old Portland girl pulled two younger brothers to safety from a fire which damaged their home here Friday night. The girl, Virginia Erhardt, rescued her younger brothers, Kenneth, 2, and Michael, 3, from their bedroom. Another brother, Richard, 10, was in the home and made it to safety. SEE X-15 AS SPY CRAFT Tokyo - IUPD - Communist China said today the U.S. ex perimental X-15 rocket planes "evidently are to replace " the U2 reconnaissance planes on spy missions. The Red New China news agency said the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space administration, which it described as an organization used as a screen for air es pionage," is conducting tests on a new "super nign-aitituae rocket plane, the X-15." for the man and a shovel. Por table radio networks have played an Important part in bringing about fast control of forest fires, and the use of chemicals dropped from the air also are effective under certain conditions. The Oregon state forestry department's southwest dis trict includes Jackson and Josephine counties. The dis trict is divided into two parts, the Medford sector and the Grants Pass sector, with dis trict headquarters located on Table Rock rd., Medford. Cur tis Nesheim is district warden, and his assistant here is Stock ton. The assistant ranger in Grants Pass is Howard Brock. Number of Acres There are approximately 1,- 600,000 acres of state, BLM nd privately-owned land in the southwest district that the state forestry department must protect from the ravages of fire. There are 16 look out stations in the district, 11 in the Medford sector and 5 in Grants Pass. Guard sta tions are located throughout the district, manned by two and three-man crews that are on call day or night for the purpose of fire suppression. In addition, three full-time fire crews, consisting of a warden and three men, are on duty at headquarters station during fire season. A year round cook, Mrs. C. O. Ger hardt is also employed at headquarters, and she has an assistant who will come on duty July 1. Fire suppression, by neces sity, must be a well-coordina ted operation, for there is too much at stake for error any where along the chain of com mand. Every piece of equip ment must be in top shape and ready to roll when the need arises. Although things go along at a relaxed pace when things are quiet, the threat of fire brings a scurry of activity to fire suppression personnel . . . for a forest fire, like a violent animal, plays the game for keens CALL NUMBERS A new system that will help facilitate air-g-ound communications is being tried this year by the state forestry department. The radio call numbers of each vehicle are being painted on top of the cab so men in an airplane can tell the location of the man they are talking ' with. A reconnaisance plane can call to a driver of particular vehicle and give him directions, where before the truck might be confused with another. The four-wheel drive sta tion wagon above belongs to Assistant District Warden Doyle Stockton. 1 1 r. ""3 "TQS"7''" NEW MACHINE The Army surplus half-truck, above, ac quired this year by the state forestry department, carries a large tank of water that will aid in forest fire mop up operations. The machine is a "bearcat" for power and traction and will go into terrain that is too rough for the tank truck. A long hose and pressure supplied by the SPECIAL EQUIPMENT Forestry department warehouse man George Davis, above, removes a portable wate.r pump from its box to be sure it s in at hand, the pump could be though most of the tune fires seem to start in areas away from streams. The pump is not part of the regular equip ment of the department's fire trucks. Girls State Opens In Salem Monday Salem - IUPD - Girls State, a study In government by about 250 Oregon high school jun iors, opens here Monday and lasts one week. A Girls State governor will be elected Thursday. Other mock state officials will be named along with mock city and county officers. Director of the project Is Mrs. Hugh G. Murchison, Pen dleton. The girls will also elect two mock U.S. Repre sentatives and they will at tend Girls Nation -the na tional program - in Washing ton, D.C. REDS BUILDING AIRSTRIP Tampa, Fla. -(UPD- Sen. George Smathers (D-Fla.) said Friday 252 Russian engineers and technicians are building a jet air strip in Cuba. He told a news conference it was a "definite threat to the safe-1 ty of the United States." i top condition. When water is utilized to extinguish a fire, SUBWAY -.EIIVICE Oslo, Norway, may be the smallest city with a subway. HE'S . . . o Mrs. Ada Klatsen, 831 Dakota, Medford, discovered Juno 3, I960, when "Suds" Sutherlln knocked on her door with the Folgers door-bell ringing questions. Mrs. Klassen answered cor rectly, and minutes later received the Westinghousa upright freezer, pictured tn the background. Also upright in the background, Win Marks, manager of Radio Station K-BOY, which airs names of winners of Folgers door-bell ringing priies daily on the m mi mm tra MoNtifly through Friday K-OY AM-FM, 730 Kc. o '. pump on top of the tank makes it possible to wet down a wide area. The half-truck is too slow to go any distanca to a fire, so It will be transported on a large carry-all pulled by a truck, according to Assistant District Warden Doyle Stockton. v Iff , r FIRE TOOLS This group of hand tools being displayed by Fire Crew Warden Bill Davis are, front to back, a cruiser's axe; hazel hoe; swamping axe; pulaski and a McLeod. Davis has hand on a back pump which is carried by means of two shoulder straps. The tank, containing water, is heavy and cumbersome to carry over rough terrain, but is effectively used in combating creeping ground fires. The hand tools are used mostly in cutting fire trails, which involves removing forest duff ana) debris to mineral soil. 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