Aug. 9 [2002] — The massive Oregon wildfire that by Friday had consumed 308,000 acres, absorbed 5,400 firefighters and cost $27 million to battle has now become the poster child for the U.S. Forest Service as it campaigns to thin certain national forests by allowing selective timber harvests. In Southern California, meanwhile, firefighters suffered a setback as winds pushed a 56,000-acre blaze back towards two communities.

OREGON’S “FLORENCE” fire, the largest in the nation, drew the attention of the U.S. Forest Service chief, Dale Bosworth, who toured the area Thursday.

“The most important thing we can do in a good part of the West is doing some thinning and reintroduce fire back into these fire-dependent ecosystems in a controlled manner,” he told reporters.

The agency and the Interior Department are lobbying for thinning certain national forests where fires have been suppressed over decades, creating extra fuel that can turn small wildfires into infernos.

That kind of management strategy gained political traction after the devastating 2000 fire season.

“If you have a healthy, functioning ecosystem, it’s designed to work properly,” said Jay Thietten, fire management specialist for the Bureau of Land Management, an Interior agency. “But we don’t have that kind of ecosystem in most places.”

Still, concerns about thinning and re-introducing remain. Environmental groups fear that thinning will open the door to more logging in pristine areas.

And to simply re-introduce fire to overgrown forests could be extremely dangerous.

“It’s not just a case of dumping fire back in the land,” said Arizona State University fire historian Stephen Pyne, author of several books on wildfire. “Right now the land is going to fry, and I don’t think there’s any guarantee it will come back as it is.”

FIRE FUNDS TAPPED OUT

Bosworth noted that the $325 million budget for wildfires has already been consumed and that the bill for this firefighting season could top $1 billion.

Agencies are now borrowing funds earmarked for future seasons, Bosworth added, echoing a concern shared by lawmakers like Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who sent President Bush a letter Thursday seeking $50 million in promised federal aid.

“Fifty million dollars is a drop in the bucket compared to what the West really needs to fight the fires, but right now the bucket is bone dry,” Wyden said. “The president needs to act.”

The money was authorized in a law signed by the president in early August, but it can’t be released until he formally declares the West’s fires a national emergency.

FIRE ONLY 20 PERCENT CONTAINED

The Oregon fire, burning inside the Siskiyou and Six Rivers National Forests, has proven one of the most stubborn to deal with this season. Lightning started two fires on July 13, and on Thursday the two had merged into one.

On Friday, the fire was only 20 percent contained and while it no longer appeared to threaten the 17,000 residents of the Illinois Valley, communities near the Rogue River were still at risk.

A second-straight “red flag” warning was posted Friday in the area, alerting crews to expect gusty northeast winds and low humidity — natural ingredients for fanning the fire.

Nearly 4.8 million acres have burned in the United States so far this year, almost three times the number last year and more than double the average for the last decade.

In central Nebraska, rains brought temporary relief to firefighters battling a wildfire burning across 20,000 acres. Firefighters had brought the blaze under control until it flared up Wednesday amid gusting wind and quickly doubled in size, threatening several ranch homes.

SAN DIEGO-AREA FIRE STILL A THREAT

East of San Diego, authorities reinstated a voluntary evacuation advisory in two mountain communities after winds fanned a wildfire that has burned 56,000 acres.

Residents in parts of Warner Springs and Chihuahua Valley were told they should be prepared to flee with one hour’s notice as wind pushed the fire back toward their homes. A day earlier, authorities decided to allow more than 1,200 people in the area to return home.

Crews built a fire line around 60 percent of the blaze, which has destroyed 30 homes, 92 barns and other outbuildings, and 118 vehicles. The fire started July 29 after a National Guard helicopter on an anti-drug patrol clipped a power line.

Officials hope the 3,200 firefighters battling the blaze will have it under control by Sunday. “As it heads toward the desert, the fuel becomes pretty sparse,” said Abby O’Leary, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry. “In the foothills, there’s still quite a bit of plants, but as it starts moving northeast ... it possibly could burn itself out.”

Springfield, Ore.: New towns in line of fire

Portland, Ore.: Resort town told to prepare

San Diego: More crews brought in

Durango, Colo.: Chief of staff defends stance on aid