Oregon Public Broadcasting

High temperatures and lightning are in the forecast for much of Southern Oregon. 

Oregon Department of Forestry officials reacted by raising the fire danger level to extreme Tuesday in Jackson and Josephine Counties.   That limits some activities, like mowing dry grass or using a chain saw.

Brian Ballou is the fire prevention specialist with the Oregon Department of Forestry in Southern Oregon.

He says the area has had virtually no rainfall in the past 2 months, and temperatures are expected to hover in the high 90s and low 100s for the next 10 days.

Brian Ballou: "There's always a chance that we can get a group of lightning strikes in a really tough spot, something that's fairly inaccessible where there's a lot of fuel.  And that's probably our single greatest risk."

Ballou says most of the time fires are easy to reach.  He says  conditions are "pretty normal" for this time of year, but he expects the fire risk to remain through August and into September