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600-acre fire burning
By BILL CHOY
A lightning-sparked fire that had charred more than 600 acres continued to burn on the hills south of Ashland on Saturday morning. The Cove Road fire, located on a high ridge off of Dead Indian Memorial Road, was threatening 71 homes in the Cove Road area as of late morning, Oregon Department of Forestry Fire Prevention Specialist Dennis Turco said. No evacuations had been made, he said. Fire engines from Jackson County Fire District 5 are providing fire protection to the homes.
Fire officials are carefully watching to see if the winds change sometime Saturday afternoon, he said. "We're expecting possible westerly winds at 6 to 12 miles,'' Turco said. "Anytime you get wind it can cause problems for us.'' The blaze was first reported at 4:45 p.m. Friday, ODF officials said. The fire appears to have been started by lightning, Turco said. Lightning strikes have been responsible more than 50 blazes in Southern Oregon since Thursday night. The largest in the region is the fire near Ashland, ODF officals said. Other fires are raging in Gold Hill and the Grants Pass area. About an hour after the Cove fire started, air tankers could be seen going into the heart of the blaze dumping retardant on the fire. Before Dead Indian was closed to traffic, spectators line the sides of the road watching the blaze with fascination. A few got out their cars to film the fast moving fire. Smoke could be seen and smelled throughout Ashland. Approximately 40 firefighters, air tankers and helicopters battled the fire Friday evening, Turco said. The fire is burning in steep terrain, which made it a challenge for fire crews, he said. "We've got hand crews on out on the fire, but it's getting quite steep at places," he said, "It makes fighting the fire more difficult." Additional fire crews are on the scene today, ODF officials said approximately 100 firefighters and additional air tankers and helicopters are at the scene, Turco said. Fire officials expect the acreage of the fire to have grown by this afternoon, ODF officials said. Dead Indian Road remained closed to all but residents as of Saturday morning, Turco said. ODF officials had no estimate on how long it would take to contain the blaze. The U.S. Forest Service reported small fire near the Mt. Ashland Ski Area parking lot in the Klamath National Forest on Friday.
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