More
links will follow
as we continue to
develop this site.
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The Colestin Rural Fire District is no longer operational. As a courtesy to our local community, this website will continue to be maintained on a limited basis and for a limited period of time; however, we are no longer liable for responding to fire calls, medical calls, or any other emergencies. We have not yet been annexed into Jackson County Fire District 5, although we will have their support during fire season, so at this time, District 5 is not primarily responsible for responses within our district. Instead, all calls should be directed to 9-1-1. The appropriate resources will be dispatched accordingly, and as they are available.
Use the search function on this site: Type in
(on the upper left, in the navigation bar) "Hornbrook,
CA" and get the forecast for Hilt, Hornbrook, and northern
Siskiyou County. Type in "Ashland, OR" and get the
Ashland, Medford, and southern Oregon area forecast.
You can also use the Pinpoint visual forecast
on this page by clicking directly on the map. This gives the
most localized forecast for current and 7-day-projected conditions.
ODOT/OSP Interstate-5 Road Condition Reports
(Description Report - includes
any chain requirements and/or road closures):
Be alert during and after lightning storms for smoke or fires.
Lightning strikes can cause fires in slow-burning, heavier
fuels or subsurface forest floor duff that sometimes remain
unseen for several days before they build into visible fires.
This can be just as true when lightning hits with rain, as
without rain, depending on the type of fuel involved.
Rain and Fire Danger
Rain does not remove fire danger: it only lessens it temporarily.
In high heat, previously dry light "flash" fuels,
(i.e., grasses, surface duff and shrubbery) can become completely
dry and flammable again within a day or two.
Why doesn't rain lower the fire danger level?
While the lower temperatures and rain lessens the immediate
fire danger on the surface of fuels, it does not change the
flammability of heavier fuels, which are significantly drier
than average, due to a long dry spell recently, and to several
consecutive years of drought previous to this year.
While this has not been "dust bowl drought," it is
still recorded as drought, since the annual rainfall totals
and snowpack moisture-level totals have remained below average.
The cumulative stress upon timber and other trees, shrubs and
vegetation, as well as upon ground soils and the water table
itself, has produced a fire-prone situation.
Rain does not change this overnight, particularly with regard
to larger, heavier fuels. While rain helps limit the spread
of fire through flash fuels (lighter fuels, e.g. grasses), duff
(the compost-y build-up of leaves and decomposing organic matter
on the floor of the forest), and smaller vegetation that dries
easily during the heat of a fire, it does not alter the internal
flammability of larger fuels. Lightning can easily ignite such
fuels; rain merely deters the spread.
Bottom line: During fire season, even with rain, fire danger
still exists. Always observe the posted
restrictions and remain vigilant, especially during and
following thunderstorms.
