Klamath Basin News, Friday, 8/6 – OSP Raid Illegal Marijuana Grow in Malin, Bootleg Fire Update, And Two New Fires Near Bly – Yanix Fire and Walrus Fire

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Mick-insurance-2020-new-728x90-1-1024x127.jpg

The latest and most comprehensive coverage of local News, Sports, Business, and Community News stories in the Klamath Basin, Southern Oregon and around the state of Oregon from Wynne Broadcasting’s KFLS News/Talk 1450AM / 102.5FM, The Herald & News, and BasinLife.com, and powered by Mick Insuranceyour local health and Medicare agents.

Friday, August 6, 2021

Klamath Basin Weather

Air Quality Alert

Today Widespread haze after 2pm, otherwise sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming west northwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Expect clear overnight, with a low around 54.


Saturday Patchy smoke. Sunny, with a high near 91, with an overnight low around 56.
Sunday Areas of smoke. Sunny, with a high near 89.
Monday Sunny, with a high near 90.
Tuesday Sunny and hot, with a high near 96.
Wednesday Sunny and hot, with a high near 97.

Today’s Headlines

Bootleg Fire Update,  Friday, August 6, 2021   
Location: 28 miles northeast of Klamath Falls, OR   
Fireline total:  326 miles 
Size: 413,765 acres, 647 square miles
42 miles active fire edge, 284 miles of contained line 
Personnel: 1,252
Containment: 87% 

(Klamath Falls, OR) – The Bootleg Fire has now consumed 413, 765 acres. For the third consecutive day, a Red Flag Warning and Fire Weather Watch are in effect for this afternoon and evening.

Gusty winds and thunderstorms resulted in several new starts from lightning strikes north and south of the Bootleg Fire burn area. Initial attack resources have established perimeter to control them. 

The Walrus Fire and the Yanix Fire are about 75 acres each in size.

The Yainax Fire was reported at 1:15 p.m. yesterday and the Walrus Fire was reported at 4 p.m. and is estimated to be 85 acres.  The cause of both fires is under investigation.

Both fires are burning in populated areas.  Please see the news release for full evacuation information. 

The American Red Cross and Klamath County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) are establishing a temporary evacuation point at the Bonanza School, located at 31601 Mission St. in Bonanza.

The Yanix Fire has a spot about a quarter of a mile outside its perimeter and crews are working on initial attack and control of those new fires. The Pacific Northwest Team 2 resumed command of the Bootleg Fire from the Alaska Incident Management Team at 0600 today and assumed command of the Yanix Fire and Walrus Fire.  

Today’s weather will not be as extreme as the previous three days. Cooler temperatures and higher humidity overnight helped slow fire progression. Skies have cleared of smoke today, which can encourage updrafts and increase fire behavior, but also provides good weather for air operations. Crews will remain vigilant today watching for new starts and responding with initial attack to suppress them. 

The Bootleg perimeter has seen no significant growth in eight days. Fire crews continue to mop up and control the remaining active line, but most of the boundary is in patrol status. In some areas, chippers have started suppression repair work to help the forest heal. 

“We want to return the land to as close to the natural state and natural function as possible,” said Resource Advisor Coordinator Bill Hedman. “In time, the regrowth will bring the forest back.” Crews will work with the national forest to salvage any valuable timber and will chip small-diameter limbs and return that biomass to the forest to maintain nutrients. Often vegetation isn’t completely cleared, but rather, thinned, leaving large trees to help the forest regenerate. Suppression repair gives the forest a head start to regrow. 

Community Meeting: Due to the weather and power interruptions yesterday, the virtual community meeting was recorded and posted on Facebook. Check it out for the latest updates at www.facebook.com/BootlegFireInfo  

Evacuations: Evacuations are dynamic. The best way to view the evacuation designation boundaries and details is on the interactive map available at tinyurl.com/bootlegevac 

Closures:  An emergency closure order is in effect for the Bootleg Fire on the Fremont-Winema National Forest to protect public and firefighter safety. All travel or entry into the area is prohibited.  The full closure order and map are available on the website under Alerts and Closures at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/fremont-winema/alerts-notices    

Red Cross Evacuation Shelters: For information or assistance: 1-800-Red-Cross (www.redcrossblog.org/disaster)   


Bootleg Fire Public Information Email2021.bootleg@firenet.gov
Public Line:(541)482-1331
Inciweb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7609/ 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BootlegFireInfo Twitter: twitter.com/BootlegFireInfo

Oregon State Police detectives on Tuesday raided a marijuana grow in Malin that police accused of stealing water and operating without permits.

OSP secured a search warrant for the property, on Harpold Road, where they found more 85 than greenhouses measuring 30 x 100 feet each.

The greenhouses were spread across about 150 acres of property and later found to contain about 22,000 marijuana plants.

According to detectives, there were no permits in place to legally grow hemp or marijuana on the property, for any purpose. Additionally, detectives learned there was potentially theft of water and unlawful use of groundwater occurring as part of the illegal marijuana grow.  Preliminary tests confirmed the plants were marijuana and not hemp.

Additionally, evidence was discovered to support the unlawful use or appropriation of ground water.

The red-and-white tent set up by two local farmers as a “water crisis information center” was taken down Wednesday.

Grant Knoll and Dan Nielsen, who farm approximately 200 combined acres in the Klamath Project, purchased a plot of land next to the Bureau of Reclamation’s A Canal headgates for $30,000 this spring in response to the project’s lowest water allocation in its 107-year history.

The irrigators brought in volunteers from the local chapter of People’s Rights Oregon, a far-right organization started last year by anti-federal government activist Ammon Bundy, to help staff the tent and run meetings and speaker events there focused on water issues in the Klamath Basin.

Nielsen and Knoll said they were in regular contact with Bundy and intended to force the canal headgates open and send water to the project in violation of Reclamation’s 2021 operations plan. Some farmers in the project spoke out against the potential illegal action this year, concerned that outside political interests would jeopardize efforts to forge a long-term agreement over water allocation and restoration in the basin.

Few project irrigators attended events at the tent, which People’s Rights stopped hosting after June.

Yesterday, smoke and ash from the Antelope Fire in northern California filled the sky, helping to somewhat moderate fire behavior. Despite the conditions over the past two days, the Bootleg Fire line is holding with no spot fires.  

Fire activity has increased inside the fire perimeter, however. There remain patches of unburned fuels where the fire can spread and single- and group-tree torching has been observed. Snags and other hazard trees are common and crews and heavy equipment are still actively working the fire area. As a reminder, the Fremont-Winema National Forest remains closed north of Oregon State Route 140.

Public entry to the burn area is unsafe. U.S. Forest Service Renewable Resources Staff Officer Sean Ferrell commented: “We know you care for our firefighters and want to help in any way you can. The best thing you can do is be patient and honor the closure to give firefighters space so they can work safely.”

Meanwhile, under Red Flag conditions, the Antelope Fire burned actively yesterday near the communities of Antelope Creek, Bray, and Tennant. Hot, dry, and windy conditions aligned with exceptionally dry forest fuels and produced extreme fire behavior.

Firefighters attempted to attack the fire directly on the burning edge, but by midday the extreme fire activity forced the crews to redirect all efforts toward protecting the town of Tennant. A running crown fire produced spotting as far as one mile ahead of the active fire front, leading to substantial fire growth throughout the day and night.

Smoke from the Antelope Fire is impacting many communities in the surrounding area. An interactive smoke map at https://fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to zoom into your location to see the latest smoke information.

Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures.

Trails on Spence Mountain have been temporarily closed because of the extreme fire danger.Spokesmen for the Klamath Trails Alliance, which oversees mountain biking, running and hiking trails at Spence, said the entire trail network is closed until further notice.

In making the announcement, KTA spokesman Drew Honzel noted the Oregon Department of Forestry “has been stretched thin and doesn’t have the resources to properly respond if a fire was to break out.”

Once the high fire danger threat reduces and conditions improve, trails on Spence Mountain will reopen. Spence Mountain, 15 miles west of Klamath Falls, is located on a 7,400-acre parcel of land owned by JWTR. The ever-expanding network of trails now covers about 45 miles. Barricades with signage have been posted at the trailheads off Highway 140 and at Shoalwater Bay.

Also, Due to extreme fire danger, the Gilchrist and Sun Pass state forests in Klamath County are closed to public entry and use until further notice effective August 6.

This covers approximately 98,000 acres of land managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry in Klamath County. Note this action currently applies only to the Sun Pass and Gilchrist state forests. Forest roads are still open for residential traffic, adjacent landowners and contracted activities.

Around the state of Oregon

There are eight new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,885.  1,382 new cases of Covid have been reported in Oregon in the past 24 hours.

Klamath County had 26 new cases, Jackson County had 65.

Meantime, Legacy Health says it’s requiring employees, contractors, and volunteers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Yesterday’s announcement follows Governor Kate Brown’s announcement that health care workers must undergo weekly tests or be vaccinated if they don’t want to be tested. Nearly 14-thousand people will fall under Legacy’s requirement. It takes effect on September 30th.h.

The Medford Police Department says that a custodian at South Medford High School had made significant steps toward carrying out a mass shooting before he sought help several weeks ago.

On July 20, 24-year-old Kristopher Clay came into the Medford Police Department lobby and requested to speak with an officer. MPD said that Clay told the officer he was having “homicidal thoughts” and had plans to follow through with them. The officer took Clay to Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center’s Behavioral Health Unit. MPD launched an investigation into Clay, leading to several search warrants served throughout Jackson County.

Investigators found ammunition, guns, tactical gear, and “written material.” Clay worked as a custodian at South Medford High School. MPD said that police contacted officials from the Medford School District and arranged a sweep of the high school for any active threats. The District also ensured that Clay’s employment was terminated.

On August 4, Clay was taken into custody at Asante Rogue Regional just before being discharged from the mental health unit. He was charged with a number of counts, including Attempted Murder in the Second Degree.

Police on the southern Oregon Coast are investigating the murder of a North Bend Physician.

Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier tells The World newspaper that officers found the body of 45-year-old Dr. Craig Jackson early Monday morning when they responded to a medical emergency call at his home. Frasier says Jackson’s wife told investigators that two men forced their way into the home and fought with Jackson before fleeing the scene.

Multiple agencies are investigating, including Oregon State Police. Jackson was a doctor at a Coos Bay Clinic.

Back to the BasinLife.com Homepage

Must Read

Klamath Basin News, Monday, 5/22/23 – Complaints Over Acceptable Library Programming In The News; City and County Road Crews Busy With Renewing Road Conditions; K.I.D vs Bureau of Reclamation Heats Up With New Petition

Brian Casey

Klamath Basin News, Monday, April 8th; KWUA Elects Tricia Hill, President

Brian Casey

Klamath Basin News, Friday, 4/16 – Klamath County With Another 46 New Covid-19 Cases Reported Overnight

Brian Casey