Friday's Fire Report -- and a birthday alert!

ODF Medford Unit crews, along with engines from Jackson County Fire District 3, stopped a 3-acre grass fire near the airstrip on Jones Road. The fire was caused by an airplane crash.

Firefighters on the Kelsey Creek Fire, located 17 miles west of Glendale in Josephine County, continued making good progress. The fire grew to 18 acres, mostly due to the need to re-route some of the fire lines after some hazard trees were felled. Crews are continuing to extinguish hot spots.

The National Weather Service issued a Fire Weather Watch for the upcoming weekend. Temperatures in the mid-90s to low-100s are expected Saturday and Sunday. As an added feature, there is a chance of thunderstorms starting late Saturday and extending through Sunday.

In other news, Smokey Bear is celebrating his birthday on Saturday morning in Central Point's Pfaff Park, located one block behind the Post Office. Everyone is welcome to come and get a bear hug and a piece of birthday cake. Smokey turns 68 this year.

Fire Update

Both the Sterling Ditch and the Kelsey Creek fires are fully encircled by fire lines this morning.

The Sterling Ditch Fire (right), on Anderson Butte, 8 miles south of Medford, is 6 acres in size and is 90 percent extinguished. It was reported just before 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Crews worked on the fire throughout the night and will continue to mop up and patrol the fire today. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

The Kelsey Creek Fire, 17 miles west of Glendale, is 15 acres in size and crews have been "dry mopping" -- meaning they are extinguishing the fire without the aid of water, other than what was dropped onto it from helicopters on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today, two 10-person crews and two engines will set up a hose lay and pump water into the fire area. A helicopter will also continue to deliver buckets of water to the fire, as needed. The fire was caused by lightning, which struck the area two weeks ago.

Kelsey Creek Fire Update

The 5-acre Kelsey Creek Fire continues to slowly burn in the forest 17 miles west of Glendale.The lightning-caused fire is being fought by six members of the Siskiyou Rappel Crew (four more rappelers will join them this afternoon) and two helicopters equipped with buckets.

A bulldozer is starting to open an old road, which by tomorrow should allow a couple of engines and a crew to have better access, along with the hope of being able to get hoses and water to the fire.

Holdover Lightning Fire Burns 3 Acres

A crew of six rappelers are bashing in a fireline around a 3-acre forest fire in the deep woods 17 miles west of Glendale in Josephine County. The fire is on Bureau of Land Management land in the Kelsey Creek drainage, and is in a densely forested area on very steep ground. There are no roads in the vicinity.

The rappelers were dropped by helicopter around 7:30 a.m. today and a second helicopter is dropping big buckets of water onto the fire.

Investigation into the cause of the fire has revealed lightning as the likely culprit. The last thunderstorm took place the evening of July 19 and the early morning hours of July 20. Lightning detection from that storm registered several strikes in the Kelsey Creek drainage.