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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><h2><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Oregon Department of Forestry – NEWS RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></h2><h2><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Fire season still in effect<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Campfires only allowed in designated campgrounds</span></i><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>October 2, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:ideograph-numeric'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Major media distribution<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:ideograph-numeric'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Contact:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:ideograph-numeric'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Tom Fields, 503-945-7440, <a href="mailto:tfields@odf.state.or.us">tfields@odf.state.or.us</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:ideograph-numeric'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Rod Nichols, 503-945-7425, <a href="mailto:rnichols@odf.state.or.us">rnichols@odf.state.or.us</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'>Fall has arrived and summer didn’t get the memo. Continued warm weather and the absence of rain have kept fire danger high to extreme throughout Oregon. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'>“We are experiencing conditions far from normal for this time of year,” says Oregon Department of Forestry Fire Prevention Coordinator Tom Fields. “The combination of dry, hot weather and exceptionally dry vegetation has created an environment that wildfires will thrive in.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'>Fire managers throughout the region are spreading the word: Proceed with extreme caution when working in or enjoying the outdoors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'>“We continue to discover and extinguish illegal campfires in several remote areas,” Fields said. “In one case, our crews found an escaped campfire left by a hunter two miles from any road.” Fields says a different fire escaped its confines and burned more than two acres and cost more than $4,000 to suppress. Persons responsible for illegal campfires will be cited and held liable for fire suppression costs. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'>Public use restrictions, or Regulated Use Closures, remain in effect on all lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry. Campfires, while only allowed in designated campgrounds, should not be built at all under the current conditions. Backyard burning, smoking and off-road driving remain prohibited. For a complete list of restrictions in specific areas, log on to </span><a href="http://www.oregon.gov/ODF"><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'>www.oregon.gov/ODF</span></a><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'>The three month period from July through September was the driest on record, dating back to the late 1800s, in most areas of the Willamette Valley. Weather forecasters do not see a change for at least another 10 days to 2 weeks. Fire season will remain in effect until significant precipitation occurs where the threat of a fire starting is close to nil. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span style='font-family:"Microsoft Sans Serif","sans-serif"'>###<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>