Power line causes grass fire

Blaze scorches 8.7 acres on Dead Indian

By Alan Panebaker
Ashland Daily Tidings

Sparks from a transformer ignited a grass fire about three miles up Dead Indian Memorial Road Sunday afternoon.

Phoenix, Medford, Ashland, Jackson County District 5 and Oregon Department of Forestry firefighters arrived to battle the blaze shortly after 1 p.m. Captain Jim Campbell with Fire District 5 said the teams had the fire under control in under an hour.

Roger Batson was swimming in the stream across the street when the fire started. He said he heard a transformer blow and came running back to move his motorhome — which was set up on the side of the road at the base of the hill where the fire burned. Before he could locate all of his belongings, firefighters showed up and put out the fire Batson said.

The blase burned almost nine acres of grass on the left side of the road heading up Dead Indian, Oregon Department of Forestry officials said after they measured the burn area. The charred area came within 50 feet of where Batson’s motorhome was set up. The Arizona resident said he owns property where the fire happened and had been camping in the spot for about a month.

The blackened area is on the left side of the road driving up Dead Indian. A fence and some dry grass are all that hold the line between where the fire burned and Batson’s camping area.

Captain Campbell said fires starting from powerlines in the summer time are not are infrequent but do happen.

“It’s not unheard of,” Campbell said.

The Oregon Department of Forestry is investigating the blaze. Greg Alexander, Medford unit forester with the Oregon Department of Forestry, said four of the department’s engines responded Sunday after a 911 call.

“We got a lot of help from local residents,” Alexander said.

One local resident had a grater to help stop the blaze from spreading, and a fire department bulldozer helped cut a line around the blaze also. Alexander said the hot dry weather allowed the fire to start, but crews were lucky the winds were low or else the fire could have been much worse.

Staff writer Alan Panebaker can be reached at 482-3456 x 227 or apanebaker@dailytidings.com.

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