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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]<\/p>\n
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 .<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n