Melvin White of Cave Junction, left, and Travis Smith of Merlin, firefighters with a Grayback Type 2 Initial Attack Team, train Monday in a staging area at J. Herbert Stone Nursery in Central Point. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune]
J. Herbert Stone Nursery, the US Forest Service facility at 2606 Old Stage Road in Central Point, is being used as a staging area for contract firefighters and crews arriving in the area to fight wildfires .
The site has been in use since July 30, the day after the McKinney fire broke out in Siskiyou County, California, and lightning strikes were being investigated throughout the region.
“With the recent additions, this will increase our Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest firefighting capacity to approximately five times normal, along with the local knowledge these personnel bring with them, which is of great value” , the Forest Service stated on its Facebook page.
“Since the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest activated the staging area at J. Herbert Stone Nursery, the forest has hosted 12 engines, two bulldozers, 11 Type 2 manual equipment and a set of wood fallers in just this site,” the agency reported. Saturday. “On Friday, five Type 2 hand teams arrived on scene for duties in support of the local and regional need.”
As of Saturday, the National Forest had responded to and suppressed 29 fires for a total of 5.11 hectares burned, with 15 of those fires being human-started, the agency reported.
