Forest fuels drying out

A combined interagency effort helped contain a pair of brush fires in the Florence area over the weekend.  Aaron Schneider, Assistant Fire Management Officer with the Siuslaw National Forest says the first fire burned about a quarter acre of brush and grass near Sutton Campground Saturday afternoon.

Soon after that, a second blaze in about ten acres on the North Fork was reported.  Schneider said both fires appeared to be human caused and remain under investigation.  Fire managers say the two blazes point out that even though it has been relatively cool and wet in Western Oregon, there is still a risk for fires to start… and spread now that summer heat has dried out burnable materials.